Eric Williams and Billups

[Phe Meas <PheM@e-parcel.com>]

Ire at Celtics motivation for Williams

                  By Vicki Michaelis
                  Denver Post Sports Writer 

                  March 5 - MIAMI - Eric Williams, at this point,
couldn't think of a better
                  way to make his return to Boston.

                  Williams returned to the Denver Nuggets' starting
lineup Thursday in Miami
                  and responded with his best game of the season,
scoring a team-high 21
                  points on 7-of-15 shooting. That came on the heels of
a 15-point,
                  five-rebound performance on Tuesday in Indiana, which
earned him the
                  starting spot.

                  "It takes me going back to the Eastern Conference to
get my game back, I
                  guess,'' said Williams, who struggled so much early in
the season that for a
                  time he fell to No. 3 at small forward.

                  Tonight, he'll be back in Boston for the first time
since the Celtics traded him
                  to the Nuggets in the summer of 1997.

                  "It's a big game because we need to win. But it's more
than that for me,''
                  said Williams, who didn't get to play against Boston
last year because he
                  was sidelined by a knee injury.

                  Williams was motivated to hit the weights and lose
weight during his injury
                  layoff because the word coming from the Celtics on him
was that he was
                  lazy and overweight. Now, the leaner, stronger
Williams feels motivated to
                  have the game of his career tonight.

                  "Personally, I would love to go out and score 50 on
them,'' Williams said.
                  "But I would be happier if we win. It would be great
if I could have both,
                  but I'd rather have the win.''

                  Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, traded by the Celtics
just months after
                  they drafted him No. 3 overall in June 1997, would be
happy just to play.
                  But he and Bryant Stith, suffering from sprains to
their left ankles, are not
                  expected to play until the Nuggets' home game Sunday
against San Antonio,
                  at the earliest.

                  "You know I want to play in Boston,'' Billups said.
"I've been waiting for
                  Boston ever since I got traded last year. When the
(schedule for) the short
                  season came out, that was the first game I looked for
- now look at me.''