GAMEDAY: Milwaukee vs New Jersey - 04/07/10

Head Coach Scott Skiles

On tonight's game...
"You could tell we were very tired (at the beginning of the game). We had that factored in and, again, our guys were able to battle through it. As the game went on, we started playing a little bit more consistent defense and moved the ball. Jerry (Stackhouse) came in and gave us a lift offensively and Kurt (Thomas) gave us a big lift again, to say the least. It was a good sign that we were able to fight through that fatigue."

On the play of veteran Jerry Stackhouse...
"Obviously, he's been a very important player for us. He's able to come in off of the bench and we're able to get him the ball in certain areas and he can make plays for us. (Terrence) Williams was on him a little bit and we went down there and he scored for us."

On John Salmons playing the point guard position...
"If we have to do it again, or if we elect to do it, we'll keep it simple for John (Salmons). Just run a handful of simple sets and let him come off and handle the ball and make decisions. He's been very good at that. He can come off and shoot and he can come off and see people. He's got some nice size to see over the top of the defense, so we're comfortable doing that if we have to. It could come into play when we want a smaller guard guarding John and if we have an opportunity, that's the way we could do it."

Guard John Salmons

On tonight's game...
"It was definitely a good win for us coming off of that emotional win last night. The Nets, they played hard, they came in and they hung with us the whole game until a little into the fourth (quarter) and I got to give them a lot of credit for that. In the fourth quarter, our defense stepped up. Stack (Jerry Stackhouse) started hitting some shots for us and we won the game."

On winning back-to-back games without Andrew Bogut...
"It's two good wins for us. We've got to continue to learn how to play without Bogues (Andrew Bogut). These first few games is a good step for us and hopefully we can continue doing that."

Forward Ersan Ilyasova

On tonight's game and the rest of the season...
"We started really bad in the first half. In the second half, we picked it up and started playing better defensively and didn't give up too many easy points for them. We're just looking forward now to this important part of the season."

On playing without Andrew Bogut...

IN THE HISTORY BOOKS - With five games left in the regular season, the Bucks made history Tuesday night, setting a franchise record for three-pointers in a season. Milwaukee drained seven three-pointers to surpass the previous club record of 593 threes set in the 2000-01 season. The Bucks 599 threes rank them sixth in the league. Brandon Jennings' Bucks rookie record 134 three-pointers rank second among rookies and tie him for 16th in the NBA. Jennings and Carlos Delfino (123 threes) have combined for 257 threes, which is the most by a Bucks duo since Michael Redd (163) and Bobby Simmons (105) combined for 268 in 2005-06.

NO JOHN DOE -The Bucks are 19-6 (.760) since acquiring John Salmons at the trade deadline. Over that span, he's averaging a team-high 20.2 points to go with 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals, leading or tied for the team lead in scoring in 13 of those games and scoring double-figures in 23 of the 25. He's also tallied 13 games with 20 points or more, including 20-plus performances in 10 of his last 14 games. Salmons is shooting 46.1 percent with the Bucks, including 39.4 percent from long range.

BOUNTIFUL BENCH - Last night, the Bucks bench outscored the Bulls 37-21 with Ersan Ilyasova scoring 17 points (on 7-14 shooting) and Luke Ridnour adding 13. Luke Ridnour has scored double figures in eight of his last 10 games, averaging 11.1 points and a team-leading 4.8 assists and is shooting 48.8 percent (42-86), including 34.5 (10-29) from three-point range. Ersan Ilyasova is averaging 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in his last five games, shooting 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field in those five.

WINNING WAYS -Tuesday night, the Bucks recorded their 43rd win, giving them the most wins since going 52-30 in the 2000-01 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. Milwaukee also has its most home wins (27) since posting a 27-14 mark in 2003-04. Last night's win also gave the Bucks a 10-6 record against the Central Division this year, which gives the Bucks their first winning record against the division since going 15-13 in 2003-04. The Bucks were 4-12 in 2008-09, 6-10 in 2007-08, 1-15 in 2006-07, 6-10 in 2005-06 and 8-8 in 2004-05 against their own division.

IN THE LAST 25... - The Bucks have won 19 of their last 25 (.760) games, receiving key contributions from several different players. John Salmons is the team's leading scorer over that time with 20.2 per game (see the `No John Doe' note on page one for more on Salmons). Brandon Jennings (5.2 assists) and Luke Ridnour (4.0) have been the main distributors while Ersan Ilyasova and Carlos Delfino have grabbed 6.8 and 6.1 rebounds, respectively.

• With their 79-74 win in Chicago last night, the Bucks clinched their first playoff berth since the 2005-06 season. It is the 26th time the Bucks have qualified for the playoffs in 42 NBA seasons.
  
  
• Last night, the Bucks held the Bulls to just nine second-quarter points, which is a season low for a Bucks opponent. It was just the fifth win for the Bucks when scoring 89 or less, but the Bucks improve to 23-4 on the season when holding their opponent to 89 points or less.
  
  
• Carlos Delfino had two assists last night, giving him 501 for his career. He also added to his single-season career-high with 123 three-pointers. In three games since returning form injury, Delfino is averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.0 threes per game.
  
  
• Kurt Thomas started his fourth game this year for the Bucks last night and recorded a season-high 14 rebounds in relief of Andrew Bogut. With one block against Chicago, Kurt Thomas is now one block away from 750 for his career.
  
  
• Bucks center Andrew Bogut sustained a dislocated right elbow, a sprained right wrist and a broken right hand after a fall against Phoenix on Saturday. Bogut is averaging career-highs in points (15.9) and blocks (2.5) this season and his 175 blocks on the year are the most by a Bucks player since Alton Lister had 177 in 1982-83, giving him the sixth highest single-season block total in Bucks history. Bogut, who is second in the NBA in blocked shots, is one of two players in the league averaging 15.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks (Dwight Howard is the other). Bogut underwent successful surgery on his right hand Monday and is expected to need up to six weeks to recover from surgery before he can fully engage in rehab.