Bobcats' Brown, Nuggets' Karl named Coaches of the Month

NEW YORK -- The Charlotte Bobcats' Larry Brown and the Denver Nuggets' George Karl today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in January.

Brown guided the Bobcats to a franchise-record 12-4 (.750) month, tied for the most wins in the league during January. Charlotte's previous record for wins in a month was nine. The 12 wins also equaled Charlotte's win total from October-December. The Bobcats scored 102.3 ppg in January, nearly 7.0 points above their season average.

Karl led the Nuggets to a Western Conference-best 12-3 (.800) mark in January, which included wins over Cleveland, Orlando, Houston and San Antonio. The Nuggets' 12-win month is one shy of their franchise record of 13 wins, set in March of 1982. Karl, who was named head coach for the Western Conference All-Star team last week, guided Denver to an eight-game winning streak from Jan. 11--27.

Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Chicago's Vinny Del Negro, Memphis' Lionel Hollins, New Orleans' Jeff Bower, Toronto's Jay Triano and Utah's Jerry Sloan.