DENVER -- Aiming to prevent another brawl between players and fans, the NBA issued standard security guidelines for all its arenas Thursday, including a ban on alcohol sales during the fourth quarter.\nThe directives cover security officers and fan behavior and apply to all NBA games -- starting with Sunday's All-Star game in Denver.\nThe guidelines were sent to all teams and included an "NBA Fan Code of Conduct," which will be posted in all arenas. It says, "Players will respect and appreciate each and every fan," and it bars obscene or indecent messages on spectators' signs or clothing.\nPlayers and fans brawled in the stands and on the court at the end of a game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in November. One of the most violent episodes in NBA history was sparked when Indiana's Ron Artest went into the seats after being hit by a cup tossed by a spectator.\nThe new NBA guidelines ban alcohol sales from the start of the fourth quarter, limit the size of drinks to 24 ounces and limit buyers to two drinks per purchase. They also require designated driver programs at each arena.\nThe league plans to provide guidelines on the number of security officers teams should employ, as well as their tactics and placement in the arenas.\nThe guidelines say fans can be ejected for breaking the rules, but NBA commissioner David Stern said the league is not looking for ways to kick people out.\n"We look at this as an opportunity to remind people that coming to an arena is an opportunity to share an experience of rooting a home team on to victory and booing the opposition, but not doing it in an anti-social way that goes against our civil society," Stern told The Denver Post.
sh: Miller, 39, scores 36 in Pacer win
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers ran some old plays with their retiring star, and Reggie Miller flashed the form that made him one of the NBA's greatest sharpshooters.\nMiller scored 27 of his season-high 36 points in the second half, leading the Pacers to a 95-87 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. It was his highest-scoring game since he had 41 points against Milwaukee on Nov. 8, 2000.\n"Things started to flow for me in the second half," Miller said. "They set good screens, and the rest was up to me to make the shots."\nIt was the third time this season the 39-year-old Miller has scored 30 or more points, and the big game came less than a week after he announced that he would retire at the end of the season.\n"We need the win more than anything," said Miller, who shot 10-for-17 from the field -- including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. "It's good to get out there and get a few looks and run some of the old plays and just have fun."\nMiller's timely scoring had fans at Conseco Fieldhouse chanting the familiar "Reggie! Reggie!"\n"This city has really backed myself and my family," Miller said. "We've had a great relationship."\nMiller, the NBA's most prolific 3-point shooter, has seen his scoring decline in recent years with the development of younger Indiana players such as Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest.\nBut Miller carried one of those younger players Wednesday as NBA All-Star O'Neal struggled to score for a third straight game. O'Neal, who went scoreless in the first half, finished with 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting. O'Neal did block four shots, giving him 1,002 for his career.
