PLAYOFF GAMEDAY: Milwaukee at Atlanta - Game 2 - 04/19/10

Head coach Scott Skiles: "Our preparation has been great, but we're having trouble taking it onto the game floor. The guys have been very good in preparing, but we struggle to keep our focus during the game. We knew it would be interesting to see how we would react in this type of environment. They outplayed us in almost every spot up and down the floor. We've got two or three days to get better."

"When Josh Smith gets into the painted area, it makes him that much more difficult to guard. We knew we would have to keep him out of the paint, but we didn't do that tonight. Our guys are good in preparing for that, but it's not translating to the game. They're getting a lot of easy baskets. If we keep handing out those easy baskets, it could be over quick."

John Salmons: "During the third quarter I thought they really jumped out on us, and we didn't respond well to their run. We just have to come out and play harder for four quarters to give ourselves a better chance against this team."

(On playing at home the next two games) "It's a familiar atmosphere and teams always play better at home. The crowd's in your favor. It's an atmosphere that's suited for the home team. Hopefully we can go home and take care of business."

MAKING AN ENTRANCE - Brandon Jennings sure knows how to make a debut, as he has started both the regular season and now the postseason with noteworthy numbers. After nearly becoming the second player to record a triple-double in his debut (Oscar Robertson, 1960) with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the season opener against Philadelphia on October 30, Jennings opened the playoffs on Saturday with 34 points, two off of the record for most points in a rookie's postseason debut (currently 36 by Derrick Rose in 2009 and Kareem Abdul- Jabbar in 1970). Jennings hit 14-25 shots, including 4-6 from three-point land while chipping in three assists and three steals and had half (20) of the Bucks 40 points at halftime. His 34 points are his third highest total this season and the most by a Buck in the playoffs since Michael Redd scored 40 in a Game Three victory over Detroit on April 29, 2006.

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN - The Bucks fell to 17-26 in Game One of a playoff series with the loss on Saturday, but they have a history of bouncing back in Game Two. The Bucks are 23-19 all-time in the second game of a series and have won Game Two in six of their last seven attempts (lost Game Two in Detroit in 2006 to end a six-game streak). What's more, they've won four of the last five Game Two's when losing Game One.

POSTSEASON'S GREETINGS - In addition to Brandon Jennings, whose dazzling debut consisted of 34 points, two other Bucks had solid outings in their first career playoff games. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute earned a start and finished with eight points and six rebounds, hitting 4-5 from the field. Meanwhile, Ersan Ilyasova, who was a member of the Bucks D-League affiliate Tulsa 66ers during their 2006 playoff run, led the bench with 11 points and six rebounds, going 4-6 from the field.

IMPRESSIVE IMPROVEMENTS - The Bucks made the largest improvement in the East this season and third-best in the NBA, winning 12 more games than they won last year (34-48 in 2008-09). From the 2007-08 season, the Bucks have improved on their 26-56 record by 20 games. Milwaukee's 46 wins are their most wins since going 52-30 in the 2000-01 season. The Bucks also won 30 games (31-21) against the Eastern Conference for the first time since posting a 33-21 mark in 2003-04 and their 22 wins (22-9) since the All-Star break are their most post-break since going 23-12 in 2000-01.

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY - The Bucks entered the 2010 Playoffs with the second-least amount of previous playoffs games played on their roster of any Eastern Conference team with 243, ahead of only Chicago's 225 (Atlanta was fifth with 359 games played). Center Primoz Brezec has played in 342 regular season games without appearing in the playoffs, the 13th most by any active player (Hawks sixth man Jamal Crawford was atop the list with 676 regular season games played before appearing in Saturday's tilt).

THE SALMONS SWIPE - John Salmons recorded six steals on Saturday, doubling his previous playoff-high of three (set on 4/26/09 against Boston) and matching his regular season career-high. The Bucks ended the regular season with a 22-8 (.733) record after acquiring Salmons from at the trade deadline. Salmons averaged a team-high 19.9 points to go with 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in the regular season, leading or tying for the team lead in scoring in 16 of those games and scoring double-figures in 27 of the 30. Salmons was second on the team in scoring with 16 points on Saturday.

THE STORY OF SIX - The Bucks have earned the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference for the second time since the 16-team playoffs were introduced in 1984. Their previous appearance in the six seed came in 2004, when they lost in the first round to Detroit, 4-1. Since 1984, the six seed is 87-145 (.375) against the third seed with a 15-37 (.288) series record. The last six seed to beat a three was last year, when the Dallas Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games. The last time it happened in the Eastern Conference was in 2005, when the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers defeated the third-seeded Boston Celtics 4-3. The Houston Rockets are the only six seed to have made it all the way to the NBA Finals, doing so twice (1981 and 1995) and winning it in 1995. The farthest an Eastern Conference six-seed has advanced has been the Chicago Bulls in 1989, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

• The Bucks are 9-24 in Eastern Conference First Round road games and 27-36 overall in the first round. Milwaukee is 3-19 in series when they are without home-court advantage.
  
  
• All of the Bucks starters made their first playoff starts as members of the Bucks on Saturday and of the nine players who appeared in Game One, only Dan Gadzuric had previously played postseason ball for Milwaukee.
  
  
• The Bucks set a franchise record with 645 three-pointers made this season, passing the previous mark of 593 set in 2001-02. Brandon Jennings' Bucks rookie record 145 three-pointers and Carlos Delfino's career-high 134 threes combined for 279 total triples, the most by a Bucks duo since Michael Redd (182) and Ray Allen (123) hit 305 in 2002-03. The Bucks hit six triples in Game One.
  
  
• The Bucks allowed just 96.0 points per game in 2009-10, which set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in a full season (previously 96.9 points in 2000-01).
  
  
• The Bucks have clinched their 26th playoff berth in franchise history, their first since the 2005-06 season, and are one of four teams in this year's playoffs that did not qualify last year (along with Charlotte, Oklahoma City and Phoenix). The Bucks are 101-111 (.476) all-time in postseason play and their 38-69 (.355) all-time playoff road record is the ninth best in the NBA.