Isiah returns to Indiana for first time since firing

This time, however, was different. The New York Knicks president was preparing to watch his first basketball game in Indianapolis since being fired in August as coach of the Pacers.

"It's definitely different," Thomas said of his commute with his wife. "I didn't feel bad or anything; it was good memories and good thoughts."

His Knicks were dominated Tuesday night, losing 107-86.

Thomas coached the Pacers from 2000-03, failing to get the team out of the first round of the playoffs each time.

He was hired by the Knicks in December to replace Scott Layden and immediately shook up the moribund franchise. He traded for Nazr Mohammed, Stephon Marbury and Tim Thomas, who have helped the Knicks get right back into the playoff picture.

When longtime adversary Larry Bird was hired as Pacers president last summer, Thomas sensed his time in Indiana was over.

"It wouldn't have mattered if we made it to the Eastern Conference Finals," said Thomas, whose wife and two children still live in Indianapolis and will join him in New York after the school year is over.

Thomas insisted there is no bitterness between him and Bird over his firing and said he understood Bird wanted to bring in Rick Carlisle to replace him.

Carlisle has guided the Pacers to the NBA's best record this season.

That success didn't surprise the former coach.

"As I said when I left, I think the team is ready," Thomas said. "That's not to take anything away from Rick. He's done a great job with the team. But I know what we accomplished with the team and where they are now. I take great pride in that."

He also said he had "tremendous respect for Rick. He's done a great job."

The man who led Indiana University to the national championship in 1981 stood and watched the game from a tunnel leading back to the Knicks' locker room. He said he would make a concerted effort to remain out of the public eye.

"I wouldn't want to sit in the stands in case somebody started yelling something," said Thomas, who took the brunt of the criticism for the Pacers' playoff failures. "I have a pretty short fuse."

When asked how he thought he would be received by the fans, Thomas said, "I don't know. I can tell you how it would be in Bloomington [where IU is located]."

Despite that sometimes-rough past with the fans and the way things ended in Indiana, Thomas has kept a close eye on the players he coached for three years.

"Every chance that I get to watch them on television, I watch them," he said. "I know their moves before they do them. I know when they're going to miss and when they're going to make them. When they're not playing against us, I root for them."

After the game, Thomas embraced Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal and had a brief conversation with the player who steadfastly defended him during his turbulent summer.

"He told me he missed me and he loved me and he told me to keep playing how I'm playing," O'Neal said. "I told him I missed him, I love him and I like what he's doing."