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| - Nate McMillan, who has coached the Indiana Pacers into the NBA playoffs for the fourth time in as many seasons, has agreed to a contract extension, the team announced Wednesday. McMillan, who had one season remaining on his current deal after taking over the job in May 2016, has gone 181-136 with the Pacers, including a 43-28 mark in this COVID-19 interrupted campaign. "What Nate has done in four seasons with our franchise merits this extension," Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said. "Between injuries and changes in personnel, he and his coaching staff have adapted and produced positive results." The Pacers have lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons under McMillan, but managed a winning record every season. "I'm happy to have this opportunity and look forward to coaching this Pacers team into the future," McMillan said. McMillan, 56, played from 1986-1998 with the Seattle SuperSonics, helping them reach the 1996 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. He coached the Sonics from 2000-2005, winning his lone playoff series in his final season with the club, then guided the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005-2012, when he was fired in the final weeks of the season. McMillan joined the Pacers in 2013 as an assistant coach and took over the top job in four years ago after Frank Vogel's contract was not extended. In 16 NBA season, McMillan has a 659-588 overall record. The Pacers and Miami are fighting for the fourth an fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs with two games remaining for each in the NBA bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Indiana has played without All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis, who has a left foot injury, and while guard Victor Oladipo has worked his way back from a knee injury. js/dj
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