Miami HEAT Head Coach Stan Van Gundy was named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the month of March this afternoon after guiding the HEAT to an Eastern Conference best 12-3 record last month. This marks the first time in his career that Van Gundy has earned Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors and marks the fourth time in franchise history a Miami HEAT head coach has captured Coach of the Month honors. HEAT President Pat Riley, who earned Coach of the Month honors a league-record nine times, received the accolades three times while guiding the HEAT, most recently in December of 2000. Memphis’ Hubie Brown earned Western Conference Coach of the Month honors for the just completed month.

In addition to the 12 victories recorded in March, the HEAT’s .800 winning percentage was tops in the Eastern Conference. Miami entered the month of March ten games under .500 (25-35) and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings and closed the month one game under .500 (37-38) and in a three-way tie for fourth place with Milwaukee and New Orleans. The HEAT’s 12-3 mark in March included a 5-2 record against teams currently ranked among the top eight in either conference and a 2-1 record against current division leaders with victories over Sacramento and New Jersey and a loss at Indiana. Prior to March the HEAT had a .417 winning percentage for the season and recorded a .800 winning percentage last month, the .383 improvement was the highest by any team in the league last month.

The 12 victories Van Gundy guided Miami to tied for the second highest single month total in HEAT history, one shy of the franchise record set in February of 1998 (13-2). This marks the fifth time Miami has recorded 12 victories in a month and the first time since December of 2000. The 12-3 mark and .800 winning percentage amassed this past month tied Miami’s best previous March victory total and winning percentage. The HEAT also went 12-3 in March of 1998. The .800 winning percentage was Miami’s highest in any month since recording the .800 winning percentage in March of 1998.

The first-year head coach guided Miami to a 9-1 home record and a 3-2 road record, marking the first time since February of 2002 that the HEAT has produced a winning home and winning road record in the same month. After dropping its first home game in March, Van Gundy has led the HEAT on a nine-game home winning streak which is currently tied for the second longest in AmericanAirlines Arena history. The nine home wins in March set a franchise record for most home victories in any month for the HEAT. The previous HEAT record for home victories in a month was eight accomplished in March of 1998 when Miami went 8-2. Additionally, the 3-2 road record marked the first time the HEAT have had a winning road record in any month since going 5-4 away from Miami in March of 2002.

Under Van Gundy’s tutelage the HEAT won a season-high seven consecutive games from Mar. 12-26, Miami’s longest winning streak since a seven-game winning streak from Mar. 28-Apr. 9, 2000. The seven-game winning streak gave Van Gundy the franchise’s longest winning streak by a head coach in his first season guiding the HEAT, the previous high was a five-game streak by Pat Riley from Nov. 25-Dec. 3, 1995.

Offensively the HEAT made great strides in March. Miami entered the month of March averaging 88.0 points per game and had scored 100-or-more points nine times in its first 60 games. In Miami’s 15 games in March it averaged 97.9 points and scored 100-or-more points on 10 occasions. The HEAT shot 44.4 percent as a team from the field in March after entering the month shooting 42.2 percent as a team. Defensively, Miami held opponents to 90.5 points per game and 41.0 percent shooting from the floor. The HEAT enjoyed a 7.4 points per game scoring differential in March.

Below is a list of Miami’s all-time Coach of the Month recipients.

All-time Miami Coach of the Month Honorees

Stan Van Gundy	March 2004	12-3 (.800)
Pat Riley	December 2000	12-5 (.705)
Pat Riley	February 1998	13-2 (.867)
Pat Riley	December 1996	11-3 (.786)