Rockets fire McHale as coach

Six months ago, Kevin McHale coached the Houston Rockets to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 18 years. "The team was not responding to Kevin McHale and we had to make the tough call," general manager Daryl Morey said a few hours before the Rockets took a four-game skid into their game against Portland And we had to make it soon. Assistant J. B. Bickerstaff will be the interim head coach. McHale, 57, was in his fifth season with Houston and is coming off a 56-26 season in which the Rockets fell to the eventual champion Warriors in the conference finals. Relatively the same roster as a season ago added dynamic point guard Ty Lawson, but the team has not really gelled, and McHale complained about the effort of the team and its sloppy play. McHale spent his entire playing career in Boston after he was the third overall pick in the 1980 draft.