Milwaukee ? Mo Williams chose Brew City over Pat Riley and South Beach on Tuesday, signing a six-year, $51.5 million contract to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks.

It’s another step forward for the Bucks, who held on to their starting point guard one day after reeling in free-agent small forward Desmond Mason. These moves helped soften several weeks’ worth of discouraging words coming from handlers of Chinese basketball star Yi Jianlian, who was drafted by the Bucks at No. 6 but hasn’t yet shown any willingness to sign.

As far as Williams is concerned, Milwaukee is the place to be.

“The thought of it kind of warms your heart up, knowing that you’re at a place that loves you on and off the court,” Williams said.

Williams’ heartwarming experience came at the expense of the Miami Heat, who put on a full-court press to woo Williams by flying him to Miami earlier this month to have dinner with Riley.

Bucks general manager Larry Harris knew Williams was the second-most-coveted point guard on the market after the Pistons’ Chauncey Billups. Harris figured the Heat and perhaps the Cavaliers would make strong runs at Williams, leading to a lot of sleepless nights.

“I thought that when he went to Miami, it would be a one-way ticket,” Harris said. “And that was the thing that concerned me, because I know that Pat can sell it.”

Harris joked that it’d be hard for anybody to resist Riley’s personality.

“Oh, you’re motivated when you walk away from that,” Harris said. “The guy makes $10,000 an appearance. He knows how to motivate.”

But Williams said he didn’t really want the full free-agent schmoozing experience, insisting that he always wanted to stay with the Bucks and that his trip to Miami was nothing more than a “mini-vacation.”

Williams’ six-year contract includes player options for the final two seasons, agent Mark Bartelstein said. Despite the high-profile courting from Miami, Bartelstein said Williams always felt comfortable with Milwaukee, the Bucks and new head coach Larry Krystkowiak.