Pat Riley, who guided the New York Knicks to the best record in the Eastern Conference, Monday was chosen NBA Coach of the Year, beating Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich by one vote.
In the closest balloting in the 31-year history of the award, Riley received 32 of a possible 98 votes from a nationwide panel of NBA writers and broadcasters - three from each league city and 17 representing the national media.Tomjanovich was next with 31 votes, followed by Seattle's George Karl , Phoenix's Paul Westphal New Jersey's Chuck Daly San Antonio's John Lucas Boston's Chris Ford and Cleveland's Lenny Wilkens
For Riley, it was his second Coach of the Year honor. He also won with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1990.
Riley, in his second season with the Knicks, led the team to a 60-22 record, matching the winningest mark in the team's 47-year history. The record was a nine-win improvement over last season.
In addition, the Knicks' 37-4 home record at Madison Square Garden was best in the NBA and the best in team history.
Much of the Knicks' success this season stemmed from Riley's emphasis on defense. The team allowed opponents to shoot a league low - and team record - .426 from the field.
The Knicks also allowed only 95.4 points per game, the fewest in the league this season and the fewest since the Chicago Bulls averaged 95.0 in 1974-75.
During the season, Riley reached the 600-victory plateau when the Knicks defeated Miami 91-87 on Dec. 19.