The Sacramento Kings fired third-year head coach Mike Brown on Friday, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.

According to sources, Doug Christie is expected to be the Kings’ interim coach. Christie has been an assistant with the Kings since 2021-22 and played five of his 15 NBA seasons in Sacramento.

Brown’s firing comes at a time when the Kings are mired in a five-game losing streak – their longest since January 2022 – with all five losses coming at home. Sacramento is 13-18 this season and enters Friday three games behind after clinching a spot in a play-in game.

Sacramento has struggled to close out games this season, losing five games after holding the lead early in the fourth quarter. According to ESPN Research, only the Toronto Raptors have more such losses with seven.

Brown was named Coach of the Year in his first season in Sacramento in 2022-23 and led the Kings to a No. 1 ranking before losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings’ playoff appearance ended a 16-year drought without a playoff berth for the Kings, the longest streak in NBA history.

Brown ends his tenure with the Kings with a .549 winning percentage, the fourth-best performance by a head coach in franchise history.

Brown signed a three-year extension with the Kings through 2027 in June.