HOUSTON – Today, the NBA announced that Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December. It marks the sixth time D'Antoni has picked up the award. He is the sixth coach in franchise history to earn Coach of the Month honors.
D'Antoni guided the Rockets to a 15-2 mark in December, which tied for the most wins in franchise history for a single month (November of 1996). The Rockets outscored opponents by an average of 12.8 points for the month and recorded nine double-digit victories, including five by 20-plus points.
Houston opened the month by handing Golden State just its second home loss of the season in double-overtime on Dec. 1. That would mark the first of 10 straight victories for the Rockets, which is the sixth-longest winning streak in franchise history. Houston was 6-0 in the second game of back-to-backs for the month and still has yet to lose consecutive games this season.
In December, the Rockets averaged an NBA-best 120.9 points and scored a total of 2,056, becoming the first team with at least 2,000 points in a single month since Golden State in March of 1992. Houston also hit 279 3-pointers in December. No team had more than 227 3FGM in a single month prior in NBA history. The Rockets also recorded an assist on 65.1% of their field goals made for the month.
The Rockets picked up their 26th win of the season in the final game of the month against New York on New Year's Eve. Houston did not reach 26 wins until Feb. 2 of last season. Houston is 27-9 overall this season. It is the third time the Rockets have recorded at least 27 wins within the first 36 games of a season in franchise history.
D'Antoni currently has 482 career wins as a head coach in the NBA. There are currently 28 coaches in league history with at least 500 wins, including three active (Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, and Rick Carlisle). Indiana's Nate McMillan won his 496th career game at Detroit last night.
