Golden State Tells Adelman, ‘So Long’

The Golden State Warriors, who slumped to a 30-52 record this season and failed to make the playoffs for the third straight year, fired coach Rick Adelman and his assistants on Monday.

The firing of Adelman, who had a 66-98 record in two seasons with the Warriors, had been expected.

“We set goals for this team and the organization, and unfortunately we didn’t achieve the levels I expected on the basketball court,” Warriors owner Chris Cohan said in a prepared statement. “Because of this, we felt a change was necessary.”

There was no immediate word on the fate of general manager Dave Twardzik, who also has taken much of the blame for poor drafts and disappointing performances by the Warriors the past two seasons.

Adelman has a career record of 357-252.

Hill rates first

Detroit Pistons forward Grant Hill won the NBA’s IBM Award, given to the player who made the biggest statistical contribution to his team’s success.

Hill, who edged out Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz for the award, led the Pistons to a 54-28 record by averaging a career-high 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals a game.

The three-time All-Star finished the season with 112.1 points, compared to Malone’s 97.42.

Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks was third with 97.00, followed by Dikembe Mutombo of the Atlanta Hawks with 96.83 and Anthony Mason of the Charlotte Hornets with 93.63.

Combatants fined

The NBA has fined Sam Mitchell of the Minnesota Timberwolves $10,000 and Kevin Willis of the Houston Rockets $7,500 for their run-ins during Saturday’s game.

Mitchell was ejected after slamming Willis to the floor with a hard foul during the fourth quarter of Houston’s 96-84 victory. Willis was fined for elbowing Mitchell in the head late in the first quarter.

Mutombo looks ready

Center Dikembe Mutombo of the Atlanta Hawks, who strained his left groin muscle in a loss to Detroit in Game 2 of their NBA playoff series, is expected to play when the series resumes tonight.

Mutombo was injured Sunday when Detroit’s Hill struck him with a knee while driving to the basket.