PLAYOFF RACE – With just seven games remaining, Milwaukee is in the midst of a critical stretch in the race with New York and Philadelphia for the eighth seed. Here's a breakdown of the remaining schedule for the three teams:

3 STRIKES = TURKEY – We're not sure if Ersan Ilyasova is an avid bowler, but the Turkish forward has been throwing strikes from beyond the arc all season. Ilyasova's 46.0% mark from three currently ranks 1st in the NBA, putting him on pace to become the first Buck to lead the league in three-point shooting since Dell Curry (47.6% in 1998-98). Should he maintain his current clip, Ilyasova will also post the second-best three-point percentage in Bucks franchise history, trailing only Curry's league-leading mark. Craig Hodges is the only other Bucks player to lead the league, shooting 45.1% in 1985-86 (Hodges also led the league in 1987-88, when he shot 46.6% with the Bucks before a midseason trade sent him to Phoenix – he finished the season at 49.1%).

SUP-ERSAN – Ilyasova is having a breakout season, posting career highs in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), FG% (.492), 3P% (.460), 20-point games (11) and double-doubles (17). What makes Ersan stand out as a Most Improved candidate, though, is that he's accomplished it all in just 27.4 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 at New Jersey on 2/19, 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 (99.3 ppg, 5th), 100-point games (30, 4th) and offensive rating (102.8, 14th). Last season, Milwaukee ranked 30th in all three categories. A major reason for the improvement has been the scoring off the bench from Mike Dunleavy. The veteran has led a 2nd-unit that ranks T5th in the league at 34.6 bench points per game, and his 20 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 42.0% from three on the season, the 14th-best mark in the NBA.

• Including last night's 51.7% shooting effort, the Bucks have now cracked 50% in six of the last nine games, winning all six and going 7-2 over that span. Milwaukee has won its last 12 games when shooting 50% or better and is 13-1 on the season in such games.
  
  
• The Bucks tallied 36 assists last night, their league-leading 13th game this season with 30+ dimes (12-1 on those nights). Milwaukee has more 30-assist games since the All-Star Break (11) than any other team has managed this entire season.
  
  
• Milwaukee has surpassed the 100-point mark in 17 of its last 21 games, going 14-7 over that span. The Bucks are 24-6 on the season when cracking the century mark.
  
  
• According to hoopdata.com, through games of April 8, Milwaukee has an assist percentage of 62.16, better than all but one team in the NBA this season (Boston, 67.29).
  
  
• The Bucks rank 1st in the NBA in assists per game with 23.92 and 5th in points per game with 99.3. They ranked 30th in both of those categories last season.