With the Rockets ending the year surprisingly in the thick of playoff contention, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said Thursday he was going to extend the contract of Rockets coach Rick Adelman in the coming weeks.

Adelman, whose winning percentage with the Rockets is better than any coach in franchise history, had gone into his third season with the Rockets in the final guaranteed of year of his contract, with the Rockets intending to address his contract situation in the off-season.

“I’m going to pick up his option,” Alexander said. “We’re going to do it soon, relatively soon.”

“I think he’s done a terrific job. He’s taken a team that has lost two key starters and he melded the team and he’s won. That’s what we want here. He’s very self-effacing. He only cares about — which I love — is the team and winning.”

Alexander did not have a precise timetable for making the move, but said it would be done by the All Star break. He had not told Adelman of his plans.

“I didn’t know anything about that,” Adelman said. “I figured it would play itself out and we’d see how we did. I said at the start of the year I thought we had two really good years with everything that went on. I was always concerned more about my assistant coaches and what their situation is because their contracts are up at the end of the year.”