Denver Nuggets fire head coach

Denver Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw was fired Tuesday.

Shaw was 20-39 this season with the Nuggets, who began the day seven games out of last place in the Western Conference and 12 1/2 games out of the eighth playoff spot in the conference.

Shaw came under fire well before this week, but his comments that his team was a “laughing stock” after Monday’s practice drew national attention.

The Nuggets on Friday night broke a huddle with a chant of “1-2-3 … six weeks.” Shaw said it was not a reference to the amount of time left in the season but to a home losing streak, not a signal that the team had given up on the 2014-15 season.

The 48-year-old who played for and coached with Phil Jackson was a hot coaching candidate when the Nuggets handed him the keys to a playoff team before the 2013 season.

Denver missed the playoffs in his first season with a 36-46 record.

Shaw was a first-round draft pick in 1988 and played in the NBA for 14 seasons with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers.