McMillan named East's top coach in wake of Pacers' 12-3 December

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The Indiana Pacers did a lot of things right in December, not the least of which was posting an NBA-best 12-3 record, and coach Nate McMillan got some love for that Wednesday.

McMillan was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in December.

The Pacers, now 25-12 this season, posted seven straight wins from Dec. 4-16 and closed the month with a five-game winning streak.

The Pacers were particularly impressive on the defensive end of the floor last month, leading the league in defensive scoring average (101.1 points per game), scoring differential (6.5) and field-goal percentage defense (42 percent). They were second in the league in 3-point shooting defense (31.8 percent).

McMillan also was named the conference's top coach in April 2017.