Philadelphia, Pa. March 1, 2011 Today, the NBA announced that Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February. Collins becomes the first Sixers coach to receive the award since Larry Brown in March of 2003.
The Sixers compiled a 9-3 mark in February, closing out the month with a season-high four-game winning streak. The .750 winning percentage was the teams highest in a single month since February of 2003 (.800; 8-2 mark). The Sixers have posted a winning record in each of the past three months, their longest streak since the 2000-01 season.
Five of Phillys nine wins in February were by double-digits and the Sixers outscored opponents by 8.3 points per game overall. In the final game before All-Star break at Houston on Feb. 16, the Sixers picked up their 27th win of the season, giving them as many as they had in all of 2009-10.
The Sixers were 3-13 at one point this season, but improved to 30-29 following their win at Cleveland on Feb. 27. Dating back to games played on Nov. 27, Philly is tied for the seventh-highest winning percentage of any team in the league (.628; 27-16 mark).
This is the fourth time Collins has earned Coach of the Month honors. He won the award in all three of his previous head coaching stops (November of 1988 with Chicago, February of 1997 with Detroit and December of 2001 with Washington).