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Houston Rockets fire McHale year after Western Conference finals trip after 4-7 start

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FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2015, file photo, Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale walks off the court after an NBA basketball preseason game against the Memphis Grizzlies, in Memphis, Tenn. A person familiar with the decision says the Rockets have fired coach Kevin McHale, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015, after the team started the season 4-7. The person spoke on to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been announced. Assistant J. B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill, File)

HOUSTON – A person familiar with the decision says the Houston Rockets have fired coach Kevin McHale after the team started the season 4-7.

Assistant J. B. Bickerstaff will take over as interim head coach, according to the person who spoke Wednesday to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the move had not yet been announced.

McHale was in his fifth season with Houston and is coming off a 56-26 season where the Rockets reached the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1997. The 57-year-old Hall of Fame player went 193-130 with the Rockets.

The Rockets opened the season with three straight losses, won four in a row and are now in a four-game skid.

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