“They handled us pretty good obviously.  They played tight defense that we have played in the past.  We haven’t played it this year.  They took us out of what we wanted to run.  We had to start over dribbling a little bit and just had great difficulty with getting any baskets.  Ball movement, on the occasion we could move the ball, we were able to at least get a decent look.  That’s championship type defense.”

Re: Physical Play (Celtics) “There’s no question.  That’s exactly what happened.  They were more physical.  They had all five guys talking out there.  They done it before, they came out and worked on their game tonight and took it to us.”

Re: Turnovers “It’s almost always a little bit of both.  They got into us pretty good, but we made some plays that we haven’t really made all year.  We made some decisions with the ball that we normally wouldn’t make.  You got to give them credit.  Like you said they got up into us, they were physical, and they caused us problems.

Re: Rondo’s assists “I don’t know if he can get 15 assists in twenty five minutes in a playoff game.  There are going to be better defensive teams in the playoffs.  He made it look pretty easy.  He plays at his pace, even if you’re doing a good job, it’s hard to get it out of his pace.  That’s the pace he plays at.  He’s always seen the floor well and he made some nice passes.

Re: New Players “They didn’t get to play that much this year.  I don’t want to be too critical.  I think the answer is I don’t think anyone knows right now.  Now it goes to how hard they are going to work this summer.  How much they are going to learn, depending on the make-up of the team.  Teams always change when they come back.  They will show up and battle for spots…..You never know, there’s nothing promised in this league.  You got to go out and you got to earn it.  They will get the opportunity to go out and start earning it pretty quick.  Summer league will start and things like that.  We will at least get to watch them there and they will get engaged.”

Jon Leuer

“Defensively, they’re a championship caliber team. And that’s why they’re a contender. They have that emphasis on the defensive end and that’s why its hard to score on them.”

“When you see what they are able to do, just how cohesive they are as a unit, both offensively and defensively, you know I think that’s something to strive for, and you know we have a lot of young guys, especially out there tonight so that’s a learning experience for us.”

“We were definitely laying it all on the line, knowing it was our final game and we were just trying to give it everything we had and you know I think we did that. You have to tip your hat to them from an execution standpoint, especially on defense, what they were able to do, just taking us out of our rhythm.”

“I mean every time you can just repetition it helps, especially for a young player, just the more repetition you get, the more live action. It’s great to get out there and compete against KG, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass. You really got veteran guys and you see how you stack up against them.”

“It’s a big off season for me and I’m looking forward to it, to just get in the gym and work hard. You know getting better and doing whatever I can to improve my game and help this team out next year.”

“I think we can have a lot of growth in the off season with the young talent we have, moving forward I think we have a good group of guys to build around.”

COMEBACK KIDS – The Bucks trailed by as many as 14 points against the Raptors on Monday before outscoring Toronto 30-19 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory. The double-digit comeback was nothing new for a Bucks team that has now rallied from 10+ points down to win 10 times this season, highlighted by Milwaukee's comeback from an 18-point deficit to beat Miami on Feb. 1. Here's a look at Milwaukee's biggest comebacks this season:

PARTY OF FIVE – A five-block party has been going on in Milwaukee in recent weeks. The Bucks have posted 5+ blocks in 11 of their last 12 games, led by the shot-swatting duo of Larry Sanders and Ekpe Udoh. Sanders has led Milwaukee in blocks a team-high 25 times, while Udoh boasts a league-leading 26 multi-block games as a reserve this season.

SUP-ERSAN – Ilyasova is having a breakout season, posting career highs in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg), FG% (.492), 3P% (.455), 20-point games (11) and double-doubles (20). What makes Ersan stand out as a Most Improved candidate, though, is that he's accomplished it all in just 27.6 minutes per game (just two additional minutes than his previous career high). Ersan has been so efficient in his minutes this season that he's on pace to become the first player to average 12 points and eight rebounds in under 28 minutes per game since a pair of Hall of Famers did so in the early '90s:

ERSANITY – During the height of Linsanity in New York, Ilyasova produced a historic night of his own just across the Hudson. Ersan erupted for career highs of 29 points and 25 rebounds in Milwaukee's win over the Nets, becoming the first Bucks player in over 30 years to tally 25+ points and rebounds in a single game. Ilyasova becomes just the third member of the 25/25 club in Bucks history, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Swen Nater.

DUN-3-VY – The Bucks offense has been a revelation this season, ranking in the top-half of the league in scoring (99.4 ppg, 5th), 100-point games (33, T4th) and offensive rating (102.8, T13th), after finishing 30th in all three categories a season ago. A major reason for the improvement has been the scoring off the bench from Dunleavy. The veteran has led a 2nd-unit that ranks 9th in the league at 34.0 bench points per game, and his 22 games this season with 10+ points on 50% or better shooting as a reserve is 7th in the league. Dunleavy shot 56.9% from the field during March, the best mark in the month for a guard, and his 54.4% accuracy from behind the arc for the month led the league. Dunleavy is at 40.3% from three on the season, tied for the 21st-best mark in the NBA.

• Larry Sanders recorded a season-high five blocks and a career-high four steals last night against Philadelphia. According to basketball-reference.com, Sanders is the first Bucks player to hit both of those marks in a game in over 25 years.
  
  
• The Bucks finished with a 17-16 mark at the Bradley Center this season, the fourth consecutive year in which they've been above .500 at home and the 37th time in their 44 all-time seasons.
  
  
• Milwaukee matched its season high with 11 blocks last night, including four from the starting backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Shaun Livingston (two each).
  
  
• Ersan Ilyasova recorded his 20th double-double this season (and his third in a row, matching his longest streak this season) on Monday night with 19 points and 15 rebounds. Of the 24 players in the league with 20+ double-doubles, nobody has averaged fewer minutes per game than Ilyasova (27.6).
  
  
• The Bucks have won their final regular season game in each of the last two seasons after enduring six straight season finale defeats from 2004 through 2009.
  
  
• Milwaukee ranks 2nd in the NBA in assists per game (23.58) and 5th in points per game (99.4), after ranking 30th in both of those categories last season.