Nets start tough stretch against Heat

The Nets begin a tough three-game stretch Wednesday night against LeBron James and the NBA champion Miami Heat, who have won the last 12 meetings and remain the league’s standard in Carlesimo’s eyes.

”They’re the best team in the league until somebody beats them,” Carlesimo said Tuesday after practice. ”Maybe when the year’s out and we’ve played 82 games, somebody will have a better record than them. But they’re still the champions and they’re still going to the finals on a pretty regular basis, so until somebody knocks them off, this to me is the barometer you measure against and we haven’t shown yet that we can beat these guys. So that’s a huge challenge for us.”

So are the Chicago Bulls at home on Friday, and the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday. Starting Wednesday on ESPN, it’s the kind of high-profile stretch that can earn the Nets, who may be a little overlooked despite a 27-18 record, some added respect within the league.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman says wife is dealing with seizures

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman has been trying to keep a lid on his wife’s health issues that caused him to be away from the team for three weeks, preferring to deal with the situation privately while keeping his eye on the team from afar.

Mary Kay didn’t seem to understand why, so Rick Adelman relented on Tuesday, one day after he returned to the team from his hiatus. Rick Adelman said his wife is suffering from seizures and doctors still haven’t figured out what has been causing them.

”It’s just a process now,” Adelman said after practice. ”We don’t know why. We have no clue why it happened. No one can figure it out. Now it’s a matter of finding it out. How do you manage it? What do you do with it? How do you go forward? … The good thing is she’s home.”

Rick Adelman missed 11 games to be by Mary Kay’s side as she went through treatments and met with doctors. For a man who has spent more than two decades in the NBA diagnosing what is going wrong on the court and trying to figure out how to fix his teams’ problems, it’s been a frustrating process of searching for answers that have yet to come.

— Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Billy Hunter fires family members from NBA players union

Executive director Billy Hunter has fired his daughter and daughter-in-law from the NBA players’ association, less than two weeks after a review criticized his hiring practices.

In a letter to the union’s special committee of players, dated Jan. 23, Hunter informed them that Robyn Hunter was to be let go as of Jan. 25. Megan Inaba will stay on through the All-Star break to help coordinate activities in Houston before leaving her job on Feb. 17.

Hunter also states in the letter, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, that the NBPA will no longer work with Prim Capital, the banking firm that employs Hunter’s son, Todd.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Timberwolves sign Mickael Gelabale to second 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed forward Mickael Gelabale to a second 10-day contract. The Timberwolves were granted an NBA hardship exception for a 16th roster spot due to having four players out for a minimum of two weeks due to injury.

The 6-7 forward has appeared in five games for the Wolves, averaging 7.8 points, on .556 (15-for-27) shooting, and 3.6 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.

Gelabale, 29, spent two seasons (2006-07, 2007-08) in the NBA with the Seattle SuperSonics, and averaged 4.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 15.6 minutes per game in 109 contests. Gelabale was drafted in the second round (48th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by Seattle.

Gelabale began this season playing in Croatia for Cedevita Zagreb in the EuroLeague and Adriatic League. In 10 EuroLeague games, Gelabale averaged 12.8 points on 60.5 percent shooting, including 42.1 percent from beyond the arc. Gelabale signed with Valencia BC in Spain in December and played in five games in the EuroCup and Spanish League, averaging 10.8 points on 51.6 percent shooting from the floor. Gelabale has also spent time playing professionally in France, Belgium and Russia.

Gelabale played for the French National Team in the 2012 Summer Olympics, averaging 7.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six contests, all starts.

Timberwolves sign Chris Johnson to second 10-day contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed center Chris Johnson to a second 10-day contract. Johnson was originally signed to a 10-day contract on Jan. 19.

Johnson has appeared in five games for the Wolves, averaging 9.2 points, on .720 (18-for-25) shooting, and 3.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game.

Johnson playing in 14 games with the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA D-League this season where he was averaging 10.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 25.6 minutes in 14 games.

Johnson, 27, was a free agent invitee at the Wolves training camp this past fall. He appeared in three preseason games for Minnesota, and averaged 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per game. Johnson was waived on Oct. 27, 2012.

The 6-11 center has played parts of two NBA seasons with Boston, Portland and New Orleans. He started the 2011-12 season with Portland, averaging 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in 20 contests. Johnson finished the 2011-12 season in New Orleans where he averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in seven contests. In 41 career games, he holds averages of 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Johnson averaged 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks during the 2010-11 season for the Dakota Wizards and was named the 2011 NBA D-League Defensive Player of the Year. Spent his collegiate years at Louisiana State University and went undrafted in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Rockets beat Jazz in Utah by 45 points

james harden

The Houston Rockets had plenty of trouble getting to Salt Lake City as a blizzard left them grounded for a while in western Colorado.

Once they arrived, they made the Jazz pay, rolling to a 125-80 victory on Monday night and handing Utah the most-lopsided home loss in franchise history.

”We could have had Michael Jordan in his prime with us tonight . and it wouldn’t have mattered (the way we played),” Jazz center Al Jefferson lamented…

James Harden continued to do most of the damage, scoring 25 points despite sitting the entire fourth quarter with the rest of the Rockets starters…

When he wasn’t driving the lane, the Rockets were pouring in 3-pointers.

They hit 16 of 34 on the night to tie their season high for shots made beyond the arc.

But it was their pace that floored the Jazz, outscoring Utah 26-2 on the break…

The Rockets held Utah to 39.5 percent shooting, and the Jazz made just 5 of 18 3-pointers.

Carlos Delfino and Marcus Morris each hit four 3-pointers alone for Houston and Omer Asik tied a career high with 19 rebounds.

Every Rockets player scored, including six in double figures, with Morris adding 16 and Delfino 14…

Randy Foye led Utah with 12 points.

— Reported by Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press