SCOREBOARD
Friday, May 25
No NBA playoff games scheduled.
HOME SWEET HOME
Utah is 6-0 at home in the playoffs and beat the Spurs in both regular-season home games, giving the Jazz hope of making it a series again after losing the first two games in San Antonio.
HIRED
Rick Adelman waiting for the right situation was introduced by the Houston Rockets as their new coach Wednesday. Adelman’s introduction comes five days after Jeff Van Gundy was dismissed. The Rockets went 52-30 last season, their best record in 10 years. But Houston never advanced to the second round of the playoffs in the last four seasons.
NEW DEAL
Randy Wittman signed a multiyear contract Wednesday to return as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said all along that he wanted Wittman to return, despite the team going just 12-30 after the assistant took over for the fired Dwane Casey in January.
SPEAKING
“One of the first things he said to me was, ‘I think I can make life easier for your two big stars. I can put them in positions where they can, instead of going uphill all the time trying to score, they can be more relaxed and have an easier time scoring.’ That’s one of the keys to this team being a big winner – having our two best players in a position where they can be more efficient.” – Houston owner Les Alexander speaking of his conversation with new coach Rick Adelman.