NEW YORK -- Mikhail Prokhorov said Friday he decided to fire Avery Johnson last week, but now wants patience with interim coach P.J. Carlesimo. A day after dismissing Johnson after just 28 games, Prokhorov said he wont rush into a coaching search, insisting he wants Carlesimo to have a chance to lead the Brooklyn Nets out of their slump. The Russian billionaire cut short a vacation to British Columbia to travel to New York, where he plans to meet Saturday with Carlesimo. But even with big names such as Phil Jackson potentially available and Prokhorov vowing to spend whatever it takes to build a championship team, he said repeatedly that Carlesimo was the head coach. Prokhorov did say that if the Nets do look for a new coach, he would be personally involved. He wouldnt discuss anyone by name, even joking he had never heard of Jackson, the 11-time champion coach. "Now P.J. is the head coach and if it becomes necessary, you know who the usual suspects are," Prokhorov told reporters at halftime of the Nets 97-81 victory over Charlotte. Johnson led the Nets to an 11-4 start, winning Eastern Conference coach of the month honours for November. But they were just 3-10 in December before Friday, had been blown out of their previous two games, and Prokhorov said the Nets were lacking team spirit. Still, deciding Johnson would be fired last week means Prokhorov had made up his mind even before the lacklustre Christmas performance at home against Boston that preceded a rout Wednesday in Milwaukee. "I think we have very talented players but they are capable of much more than what we have seen in the recent weeks," Prokhorov said. "I respect Avery and really I wish him well, but sometimes chemistry just isnt right. It happens. "I think the main question is why we were unable to bounce back and to play like champions," he added. Prokhorov added around $300 million in payroll this summer and has set the expectations high, saying he believes the Nets can reach the Eastern Conference finals. Though its believed he wouldnt back away from paying top dollar for a coach, he left open the possibility that he may already have the guy he wants. "P.J. is the head coach and just I think we have a lot of trust in him and really I want him to lead the team," Prokhorov said. The Nets played with energy under Carlesimo after forward Gerald Wallace had criticized the team following Wednesdays 108-93 loss in Milwaukee in Johnsons last game. "To me, its kind of frustrating and sad because thats the first time in my career that a coachs been let go in the middle of the season like that," Wallace said. "But I understand the business part of it. We move on and obviously regardless of whos sitting at the head of the chair, we know what we got to do as players." On Thursday, general manager Billy King dodged a question about a report that the Nets planned to reach out to Jackson, whom ESPN.com reported was the Nets top candidate. "I havent really thought about it," point guard Deron Williams said about the Jackson reports following the Nets morning shootaround at their practice facility. "Right now, you know, P.J. is our coach. This caught me off guard, so I have no clue." The backcourt duo of Williams and Joe Johnson was supposed to be the teams strength after the Nets revamped the roster this summer as they prepared to move from New Jersey to their new home in Brooklyn. Joe Johnson, whos averaging 16.9 points and has played well below his expectations, was surprised and shocked to hear of Avery Johnsons dismissal. The guard said the players and not Avery Johnson were the root of the Nets recent struggles. "Its been a tale of two different months. One month we play pretty good and the next its not so good," Johnson said. "Us as players really have to look ourselves in the mirror and really have each others backs. I dont think weve been having fun for some time," he added. "I dont think it was the coach. I mean, dont get me wrong, I got P.J.s back 100 per cent and I think hes a great coach." Joe Johnson was in Atlanta when current New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson was fired as coach of the Hawks at the end of the 2009-10 season and hasnt given any thought to Jackson coaching the Nets. "Its crazy. Its show and tell. You never know if things are going to work out the way that theyre planned," Johnson said. "I dont have a preference. Im rolling with P.J. right now." Carlesimo, who last coached the Oklahoma City Thunder, wasnt too enthused with how he landed his latest job. "Obviously, its the worst day to become a head coach. Its clearly not an ideal situation," Carlesimo said. "But its the way of the NBA." Carlesimo -- no matter how long he has the job -- wont have much time to make changes to a team that has relied on too much 1-on-1 play and whose offensive system was questioned by Williams before he apologized to Avery Johnson. Practice time will be scarce, but Carlesimo did say that the coaching staff will look to make things simple and that they are "going to tweak some things." "The problem we have, the challenge we have short-term is that we have six games in nine days and were not going to make wholesale changes for sure," Carlesimo said. Wholesale Jerseys . Stephen Curry had 25 points and Klay Thompson had 21 for the Warriors, shooting a combined 8 for 10 from 3-point range. David Lee had 15 points as Golden State lost for the first time in four preseason games. Cheap Jerseys . He settled instead for his first win in seven weeks, and that was plenty satisfying. Maholm allowed just four hits, pitched into the ninth inning and benefited from three homers and some good defence Friday, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win over the Houston Astros. http://www.chinacheapwholesal... . But there is some question about when the Queens Park Rangers centre back will be free to take up his new position. [url=http://www.chinacheapwholesalenfljerseys.com/]Cheap nfl Jerseys china . The order by Magistrate Daniel Knowles on Tuesday came in response to suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilmas efforts to initiate the discovery process in his defamation case against the commissioner. Cheap nfl Jerseys . The level-headed skipper said all along his young, powerful hitters would eventually put things together. Whether that was wishful thinking or well-placed confidence, Melvin was right. Yoenis Cespedes had his first career four-hit game, including a homer and three RBIs, and the Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins 9-4 on Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep.Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Top seed Roger Federer and Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray were among Saturdays third-round winners at the U.S. Open. The 17-time Grand Slam king Federer, who captured his seventh Wimbledon title in July, needed just over two hours to beat 25th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The super Swiss, who is tied with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras with five U.S. Open titles, is also going for his seventh championship this year. Federer won 26-of-27 net point opportunities on Saturday. "I had no clue my stats were that good coming in," Federer said. "Fernando did have some good chances for good passing shots. Looking back, I dont remember missing too many volleys and overheads, all that stuff. Probably half the time I didnt have to volley because it was hard to hit a good pass." Federer will play 23rd-seeded American Mardy Fish in the fourth round. Fish downed 16th-seeded Gilles Simon of France, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in a late- night match. The third-seedeed Murray took down 30th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).dddddddddddd "It was tough. It was physically challenging," Murray said. "I actually felt better towards the end of the match than I did maybe halfway through it." The British star Murray beat Federer in the gold medal match at the London Olympics last month and lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final this year. Murray, who was the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to Federer, will face Milos Raonic, the No. 15 seed from Canada. Raonic breezed past American James Blake, 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) Saturday. Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the No. 11 seed, beat American Jack Sock 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-1; No. 12 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia got past 17th- seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3; and Martin Klizan of Slovakia defeated 32nd-seeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Almagros next match will be against sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who ousted 27th-seeded American Sam Querrey, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. ' ' '