Not Guilty Plea Is Entered for Jackson

Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson was led away in handcuffs Thursday after a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf on a felony charge of criminal recklessness and two other counts in Indianapolis for a fight outside a strip club.

Jackson was booked into jail and released after posting $10,000 bond, a spokesman with the prosecutor’s office said.

Authorities say Jackson, who is on probation for his role in the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans in 2004, shot a gun in the air at least five times during the fight outside Club Rio on Oct. 6.

Jackson, whose charges include misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Nov. 1, with his trial to start Jan. 8.

When asked about deputies escorting Jackson in handcuffs, prosecutor Carl Brizzi said he was “treated like any defendant.”

The criminal recklessness charge carries a prison term of six months to three years.

Jackson might also face jail time in Michigan if a judge there determines he violated probation for the 2004 brawl.

Two other men also face charges in the fight.

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Dallas Mavericks Coach Avery Johnson signed a five-year, $20-million contract that runs through 2011, months after reaching the NBA Finals and losing to the Miami Heat.

Johnson, 41, had three years left on his contract, which averaged $2.5 million per season.

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There is no new rule, but players and coaches were alerted through a league memo and preseason meetings with referees that their post-whistle complaints will be punished by quicker technical fouls, possibly leading to more fines and worse.

Players are fined $1,000 for each of their first five technicals, an amount that increases by $500 for each five after that, capped by a $2,500 penalty for each one starting with the 16th. A one-game suspension also comes at that point and for every other technical thereafter.

League spokesman Tim Frank said players are still “permitted to approach game officials with professional inquiries.”