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Heat: Gerald Green 'is safe and is healthy' after hospitalization

Gerald Green of the Heat drives past LeBron James of the Cavaliers. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Gerald Green of the Heat drives past LeBron James of the Cavaliers. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Details regarding the hospitalization of Gerald Green remain scarce, but Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday that the 29-year-old shooting guard "is safe and is healthy."

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Green missed Miami's 98-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday with what the Heat termed an "illness." The team confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Green had been "admitted into the hospital," but offered "no further comment at this time" as to what prompted his admission.

The Heat held to that stance after practice prior to Thursday's road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Green did not travel with the team to Minnesota.) Spoelstra and Heat captains Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem did, however, speak with reporters about Green's absence. From Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:

“Obviously our minds are on Gerald right now and the only comment we’ll make other than what we made yesterday is that we’re grateful that he’s safe and healthy right now. Our thoughts are with him and his family,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Green [...]

“That’s the only comment we’ll make about it,” Spolestra reiterated when asked when Green might return to the team. [...]

From Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

"When we found out he's OK, we moved on," guard Dwyane Wade, one of the Heat's three captains, said. "I talked to him today and he said he was doing better. That's all I can ask for."

Wade said players have not been told details of the incident.

"I mean I really don't know what the situation is," he said. "I just know our teammate was in the hospital and from there, I found out he was doing better today. I really don't know what the situation is."

Forward Udonis Haslem, another Heat captain, said there was a sense of relief for the Heat as they worked through their morning shootaround.

"We're happy to find out he's OK," he said. "We have work to do out here. And to know that our brother is OK, we can go out here and play with an ease of mind."

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Police records offer a bit more information on what preceded Green's hospitalization. More from Navarro:

Green, 29, was not arrested, according to the City of Miami police department, although call logs show they were summoned to his residence at 10:46 a.m. Wednesday because there was a “male down.”

Sources told the Miami Herald that Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue requested assistance because of a “combative patient” at the address where Green lives. Police assisted but did not write up a report, and nobody was arrested at the condominium.

Despite earlier reports that Green had been "acting strange" and "screaming" before being taken to the hospital, both the Herald and Sun-Sentinel report that the 911 call made in connection to the incident indicates only that he was passed out, bleeding and breathing.

Green has played for eight teams in NBA seasons after the Boston Celtics selected him straight out of high school in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft, and spent the 2008-09 and 2009-10 campaigns playing in Russia and China. He joined the Heat this summer on a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum. He's averaging 10.3 points in 21.7 minutes per game in three appearances for Erik Spoelstra's club.

We'll update this story as more information on Green's condition becomes available.

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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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