GAMEDAY: Milwaukee at Charlotte - 04/02/10

Head Coach Scott Skiles

On tonight's game
"We played pretty hard. All night long, we couldn't react to balls on the ground. That was really the difference in the game; it's those types of plays that add up. They (the Bobcats) got on the ground and went after balls. That is probably the reason why they won."

On the team's offensive rebounding
"Some of them were long and actually hit the floor and we would just stand there instead of reacting to where they were. That was huge. Overall we played hard, but in that one area (offensive rebounding) we really struggled"

Bucks guard John Salmons

On tonight's game
"It was a tough loss. We've just got to keep our heads up and stay focused. We have another game tomorrow and we have to try to get that one. We have to try to keep on moving forward. The main thing is that we have to stay positive, stay together, and keep playing hard."

On moving forward after tonight's loss
"We're playing well. We were right there in the end, we just had a couple of bad bounces here and there. That's part of the game, and we just have to keep it moving."

Bucks guard Jerry Stackhouse

On the Bobcats
"They are a team that crashes (the boards). They have a lot of long guys, they get their hands on balls, and they pride themselves on getting second chance opportunities. We normally rebound the ball better than we did. We play another hot team tomorrow night. We just have to play and hopefully we can get a win."

IN LIKE A LION, OUT LIKE A BUCK - The Bucks roared into the month of March (much like a lion) but did not go out like a lamb, posting an 11-4 record in the month. The 11 wins marks the first time they have won 11 games in a month since an 11-6 December in 2006. The team has won double-digit games in March for the first time since 2000-01, when they were 11-5 in the third month of the calendar year. The Bucks had a 10-4 record in February and if they post a winning month in April, it will be the first time the team had three-straight winning months to end the regular season since 2000-01 (8-4 February, 11-5 March, 6-4 April).

RIDNOUR POWER - Luke Ridnour is becoming a big power surge off the bench for the Bucks and has scored double figures in six of his last seven games, averaging 11.9 points, a team-leading 5.4 assists and 1.0 steals in those seven and shooting 50.8 percent (33-65), including 40.0 (8-20) from three-point range. Ridnour registered his third double-double of the season last night against Cleveland with 11 points and 11 assists off the bench.

THREE HISTORY - Brandon Jennings Bucks rookie record 132 three-pointers rank second among rookies and is tied for 15th in the NBA and have the Bucks in good position to set a franchise mark for three-pointers in a season. Milwaukee has currently hit 579 shots from behind the arc, 14 away from the club record of 593. Their 579 made threes rank them fourth in the NBA.

BUILDING BLOCKS - Andrew Bogut (443) passed Marques Johnson (441) last night for sixth place on the Bucks career blocks list. Bogut, who began the season outside of the top 10 in career blocks, has already passed Glenn Robinson (351), Paul Pressey (372), Dan Gadzuric (414) and Vin Baker (429) along with Johnson. The Aussie is second in the NBA in blocks with an average of 2.5 per game and has blocked a shot in his last 37 games. Bogut's 168 blocks this season are now the most by a Bucks player since Alton Lister had 177 in 1982-83 and give him the sixth highest single-season block total in Bucks history (see stat box on page 1). The Bucks are 14-3 when their center swats four or more attempts in a game. Additionally, the Bucks are 23-7 when the Aussie scores 17 or more; 16-3 when Bogut scores 20 or more points; and 13-1 when he scores at least 20 points with 10 or more rebounds.

SALMONS RUN - Since acquiring John Salmons at the trade deadline, the Bucks have gone on a 17-5 (.772) run, including 7-3 on the road. Salmons is averaging a team-high 19.9 points to go with 3.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals in his 22 games as a Buck, leading or tied for the team lead in scoring in 11 of those games and scoring double-figures in 20 of them. Salmons has also tallied 11 games with 20 points or more.

• The Bucks need one more win to guarantee them their first winning season since posting a 42-40 record in the 2002-03 season. The Bucks, who have the fifth-most wins of any NBA franchise since their inception in 1968-69, have now finished at .500 or above 25 times in their history.
  
  
• The Bucks lost to Cleveland last night, but they received a positive contribution from the bench with 42 points compared to 27 for Cleveland. Milwaukee's bench has outscored its opponent's bench 159-92 (39.8-23.0) over the last four games.
  
  
• Kurt Thomas had a season-high 10 points last night on 5-of-6 shooting.
  
  
• Last night's loss snapped a streak of five-straight wins for the Bucks against opponents with better records than them on the day of the game. (Cleveland 3/6, Boston 3/9, Utah 3/12, at Denver 3/20, Atlanta 3/22).
  
  
• Despite the loss last night, the Bucks magic number needed to qualify for the playoffs is still at three, meaning that any combination of Bucks wins and Bulls losses totaling three will secure Milwaukee its first playoff berth since 2005-06.
  
  
• The Bucks have won 17 of their last 22 (.773), and are 21-8 (.724) since February 1. Their .724 winning percentage is third in the Eastern Conference to Cleveland (.808, 21-5) and Orlando (.769, 20-6) over that time and sixth best in the NBA.
  
  
• Andrew Bogut and Dwight Howard are the only players in the NBA averaging 15.0 pts, 10.0 rebs and 2.0 blks.
  
  
• Carlos Delfino (493) is seven assists from 500 career dishes and four threes from a career-high in threepointers (currently 120 with Toronto in 07-08). Jerry Stackhouse is one steal (849) from 850 for his career.