Indiana Pacers fire McMillan as coach after quick NBA playoff exit

Nate McMillan was fired as coach of the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, two days after the club was swept out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by Miami.

McMillan, who took over as coach of the Pacers before the 2016-17 season, went 183-136 in four seasons with Indiana, but only 3-16 in the playoffs, including three sweep outs in the first round. The Pacers have not won a playoff series since 2014.

“This was a very hard decision for us to make, but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said.

The move came two weeks after the team gave McMillan a one-year contract extension.

McMillan spent five years as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000-05 and was fired in his seventh season as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2011-12 season. His overall NBA coaching record is 661-588 but only 17-36 in the playoffs.

Indiana went 45-28 this season and finished fourth in the Eastern Conference.