INDEPENDENCE — Mo Williams says he has a history of run-ins with Andre Miller and thinks the Philadelphia 76ers point guard has a problem with him.
Miller says he doesn’t recall any altercations other than Saturday, when he threw the ball at the Cavaliers point guard after being called for an offensive foul midway through the first quarter of an exhibition game at Quicken Loans Arena. The two faced off and had to be separated, with each receiving a technical foul.
Nineteen seconds later, when Miller was called for a reach-in foul against Williams, the Cleveland point guard said something to Miller and received another technical, which calls for an automatic ejection.
The incident probably would have faded away, but the two will go head-to-head again tonight when Cleveland plays an exhibition game in Philadelphia.
“Maybe it’s his way of playing the game,” Williams said following practice Monday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “I don’t play the game like that. If I’ve got a problem with somebody, they’re going to know I have a problem with them.
 “If you throw the basketball at someone, you’re disrespecting him, that’s all I know.”
Miller, who played for the Cavaliers from 1999-2002 and is widely considered one of the quietest and classiest players in the league, downplayed the incident.
“It was nothing, really,” he said. “It was just an early play that I really didn’t agree with, an offensive foul. I thought he just ran into me. I drew a little bit of contact, but it was my fault for throwing the ball at him. I don’t even like getting technical fouls. I mean, it happened. It’s over with.”
Maybe, maybe not.
Williams, acquired from Milwaukee in a three-team trade over the summer, said he had a previous altercation with Miller while with the Bucks. Aware of Miller’s extremely solid reputation, the 25-year-old is perplexed by his run-ins with the veteran.
 “If he had a reputation as that type of player, it’s different,” Williams said. “He doesn’t. That’s why I was really confused at the time. Intelligent person that I am, I put two and two together and thought, ‘Maybe he does have a problem with me.’
“We get paid to play basketball. It’s not UFC or WWE. We don’t do those types of things. I’m not in that profession. I play basketball. Between the lines, that’s what I do. When people try to take it to another level, that’s a sign of disrespecting someone’s game. You don’t play basketball like that.”
The talkative, jovial Williams knows he will probably receive a rude welcome tonight at the Wachovia Center, but the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder isn’t worried.
“You forgive but you don’t forget,” he said. “I’m really not concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting better. We’ve got one goal and that’s to win a championship.
“It would be a different level if it was a regular game. Will I say I’ve put it behind me? No. Am I going to play basketball and not hurt my team again? Yeah.”
Williams knows he can’t help the Cavaliers if he’s thrown out midway through the first period, which is why he and coach Mike Brown sat down and discussed the incident with Miller.
“You live and you learn,” Williams said. “You learn from your experiences.
“We talked about it afterward. It wasn’t a big issue. We just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, that I won’t be in a situation where I hurt the team like that. If I’m not in the game, I can’t contribute. That won’t happen again.”
Though Miller called throwing the ball at Williams “a bonehead play” on his part, the 10th-year pro said it was the Cleveland guard’s fault for “falling into the trap” and getting thrown out.
Williams realizes that as well, which is why the sixth-year pro vows to concentrate on doing what the Cavaliers need him to do tonight.
“We can talk all we want,” he said. “We can say all the words we want. We both know nothing’s going to happen after that. If there’s a problem with somebody, we can talk about it later. It ain’t hard to get my phone number. It ain’t hard to see me after the game. But on the court, let’s play basketball.”

Notes

Brown said he has not decided who will start at shooting guard — Sasha Pavlovic, who will get the nod again tonight against the 76ers in Philadelphia, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West are the candidates — in the Oct. 28 regular-season opener against Boston.
“Nobody’s really separated themselves from the pack,” Brown said. “They’re all about even.”
Brown said camp invitees Ronald Dupree and Jawad Williams are “neck-and-neck” in the battle for the team’s final roster spot.
• Vernon Hamilton, another guard, was waived Monday. Hamilton played in four games in the preseason, averaging 0.8 points, 0.8 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 6.8 minutes per game.
• LeBron James teamed with pro Jason Couch to win the inaugural Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. They beat New Orleans point guard Paul and pro Chris Barnes 214-195 in Sunday’s televised stepladder finals. Throwing a straight ball, James had a number of strikes, but also picked off only one pin on several occasions.
•  Szczerbiak, who guarded Sixers power forward Reggie Evans for a stretch Saturday, said the experience “was fun.”
“I put my body to use,” he said. “I’m 6-7, 240.”
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or at rickn@ohio.net.

TONIGHT

WHO: Cleveland at Philadelphia
WHAT: Preseason
TIME: 7 o’clock
WHERE: Wachovia Center
RADIO: WEOL 930-AM, WTAM  1100-AM

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