On going with a smaller lineup later in the game …
“We were in foul trouble; we had five on Luc (Mbah a Moute) and four on Ersan (Ilyasova). Both guys struggled out there a little bit, so we decided to go small and fortunately we got away with it.”
On being able to close out tonight’s game …
“We’re glad that we won. We had some similar plays; John (Salmons) had a big three to put us up seven, and we came right down and gave up a three-point play. Then the other time we went up, gave up an o-board and they scored. But we were able to maintain our poise and make enough plays, score enough points down the stretch to get a win.”
Forward Corey Maggette
On whether there was a focus getting to the line against a team ranked 29th in the league in fouls coming into the game …
“I think me personally, that’s just part of my game, what I try to do, to put them in a situation where they’re in foul trouble. [Then] they have to put in a second guy, a second-string guy, a third-string guy and take their best player out of the game. That’s something that I know I focus on and try to do, put them in situations where they have to make the substitution.”
On coming off All-Star break with new energy and energy evident during game, especially to get back in the game at the end of the third and pull away in the fourth …
“There are 26 games left, and if the team really wants to make this push for the playoffs, we have to give our all and just go out there and play to the abilities that we know we’re capable of. We wanted to come out with energy and just play as hard as we can, and at the end of the day, get a win and we did.”
Guard Brandon Jennings
On the win …
“Second half of the season, so, you know, you have to get a little more serious, and we have to come more mentally focused and ready to play.”
On closing out a close game …
“That’s something we haven’t been able to do in the first half of the season. Tonight we made some big shots, we made some big plays.”
On rebounding from “the bad quarter” to take the lead and pull away in the fourth …
“Right now there is a lot of pressure on us. If the rest of my team doesn’t think so, I know for sure there’s a lot of pressure on us to win. So right now we have to dig in and we have to concentrate. Mentally, we have to go into every game knowing that we have to win.”
The Bucks were led in scoring by Brandon Jennings (27 points) and Corey Maggette (20 points). Michael Beasley had 21 points to lead Minnesota.
Jon Brockman tied his career-high in rebounds tonight with 14 boards. It was the first time he led the team in rebounding this season.
Milwaukee had seven assists on nine field goals made in the first quarter. The Bucks finished the game with 19 assists.
The game was tied 44-44 at halftime. Minnesota was led by Kevin Love’s 11 points while Brandon Jennings scored 11 for Milwaukee.
The Bucks shot 38.5 percent in the first half (15-39) and the Timberwolves entered intermission shooting 41.0 percent (16-39) from the field. Milwaukee finished the game shooting 38.0 percent (30-79) while Minnesota shot 38.1 percent (32-84).
The Bucks outscored the Timberwolves in fastbreak points, 17-2.
Kevin Love recorded his 52nd double-double of the season and his 43rd in a row. Love finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Love has also led the team in rebounding in each of the 52 games he has had a double-double.
Milwaukee’s 30 3-point attempts tonight mark a season-high. The previous high had been 26, done three times this year.
With his four blocks tonight Andrew Bogut now has a total of 18 blocks over the last six games, good for 3.0 per contest. Bogut is two blocks away from passing Ervin Johnson for third in franchise history.
Former Buck Luke Ridnour scored 12 points and dished out three assistsin his return to Milwaukee.
The Bucks are now 15-12 when holding an opponent under 44.9 percent shooting.
It was a sloppy game for both teams coming off the All-Star break, with a combined 52 fouls and 28 turnovers.
Milwaukee finished their home stand with a 2-2 record.
Minnesota has now lost five games in a row. The Timberwolves’ 88 points tonight was well below their season average of 102.0 points per game.
The Bucks have held 42 of their 56 opponents under 100 points. That ties them with Chicago, Miami and Orlando for first in the NBA.
This was the first time the Bucks have defeated a team from the Northwest Division. They now move to 1-8 against the Northwest.
PRINCE OR PRESIDENT? – We’re not sure if it’s better to be a president or a prince like Luc Richard Mbah a
Moute, who is shooting 52.4 percent (22-42) over his last eight games and has gotten to the free throw line a
team-best 29 times, making 21 for 72.4 percent. Mbah a Moute is averaging 8.1 points and 7.9 rebounds during
those eight games (two starts) and has contributed three double-doubles. In his 46 games prior to this stretch he
was averaging 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds on 45.5 percent shooting and 1.8 free throw attempts per game.
AUSTRALIAN RELATIONS – Lyndon Johnson was the first president to visit Australia and we’re glad he did as Australian Andrew Bogut snagged 20 rebounds
in the Bucks final game before the All-Star break last Wednesday. It was his third game of 20-plus rebounds this season and 10th with at least 15. The Aussie
is fifth in the NBA with those 10 games of at least 15 rebounds behind Kevin Love, who has 35, Dwight Howard-22, Zach Randolph-18 and Blake Griffin-17.
In 20-rebound games, Bogut’s three ranks him fourth behind Love (eight), Howard (six) and Randolph (five). He leads the Bucks with 11.5 rebounds, which
would be fifth, but he’s short on games played to qualify (he needs to play the next six in-a-row) or if he grabs 15 rebounds against the Wolves he’d qualify.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – The Bucks stressed the importance of defense in their 2010-11 campaigning and they’ve kept the promise as they’re third in
points allowed (92.8), eighth in defensive field goal percentage (44.7), seventh in three field goal percentage (34.1) and have held 41 of 55 foes under 100
points, or 74.6 percent (tied with Chicago, Miami and Orlando for the most). Those numbers are an improvement on last year at the break when they were
allowing 97.8 points (14th), 45.6 field goal percentage (12th), 34.4 3-point percentage (11th) and 27 of 51 foes under 100 points (52.9 percent, T- 14th).
NEARING NUMBERS – Andrew Bogut passed Glenn Robinson (3,519) for fifth place in franchise history for rebounds last Wednesday and he (581) is also
six blocks away from passing Ervin Johnson for third place in blocks. A few other milestones on the horizon include: John Salmons (496) needs four 3-
pointers for 500 and, at 647, needs three games for 650 in his career. Keyon Dooling (648) needs two games to reach 650. Brandon Jennings (202) is 30
3-pointers away from passing Toni Kukoc and Lee Mayberry (231) for 10th place in franchise history.
The Bucks have held 41 foes under 100 points, tied for first in the NBA and is the 12th best total in franchise
history. The record is 53, set in the 1997-98 season. Last year the team held 48 opponents under 100.
Since returning to the starting lineup February 8, John Salmons has averaged team-highs with 17.8 points and
4.3 assists with 3.3 boards and 1.0 steals. He has shot 44.9 percent from the field (40-89) and gotten to the
line 25 times (first on team), sinking 21 (84.0).
Milwaukee’s bench has outscored their foes 32.3-14.8 (131-59) over the last four.
The Bucks have used 19 starting lineups this season with a total of 12 players receiving at least one starting
nod this season. Of those 19 lineups, the most often used grouping has started seven games together.
The Bucks are 1-2 as they wrap a four-game homestand tonight. After returning from Wednesday’s game at
NY, the Bucks will be at the Bradley Center for another four consecutive games and six of the next seven.
Ersan Ilyasova missed last Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets, missing his first game of the season. Prior
to that game, he had been the only player to appear in all of the team’s games.
