Pacers fire head coach Nate McMillan

The Indiana Pacers relieved head coach Nate McMillan of his duties, the team announced Wednesday.

Indiana was eliminated from the playoffs in a first-round sweep by the Miami Heat on Monday.

McMillan's firing comes as a surprise given the team gave the 56-year-old a contract extension two weeks ago.

"This was a very hard decision for us to make," Pacers' president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. "But we feel it's in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction."

The Pacers have been hit hard by injuries the last two seasons and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round three times in McMillan's four years as coach. Following Monday's loss, the bench boss said the Pacers needed to get to full strength to reach their potential.

McMillan compiled a 183-136 regular-season record in Indiana. He replaced Frank Vogel in 2016 after three years as lead assistant with the team.

Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni - whose contract expires after this season - will be a target of the Pacers if he becomes available, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.