On starters’ hot performances tonight …
“We were knocking down shots tonight. Guys were moving the ball early, we got good looks. We were able to step up, knock them down. You could tell guys were feeling pretty good about themselves offensively tonight. It was just a matter of could we have any moments during the game when we could really shut them down, and we had a nice little stretch in the third, fourth, our defense came up big for us a few times. We were able to get out and get some easier baskets.”
On Carlos Delfino’s performance …
“He’s an important player for us. We don’t expect him to have eight threes or 26 points, but his ability to knock down those shots on a night like tonight, it’s evident how important he is. He usually gets pretty good 3-point looks and tonight he was really stroking it.”
Center Andrew Bogut
On whether there is a mental difference for the team in games like tonight or last week against Philadelphia, versus at Boston and Atlanta …
“New Jersey is fighting for the last playoff spot, much like we are. They’ve actually gotten better than they were the first couple times we played them. Deron Williams has brought a lot more energy to that team. We don’t want to look too much into Boston and Atlanta. Boston was one of those nights that you have once in five years. It carried over a little bit to Atlanta, where we got blown out. We played terribly there, but we don’t want to look too much into it, we’re going to try to move on. They’re two tough teams, if we would have lost by one point both nights or forty – forty’s a bit more embarrassing – but [they both] count as a loss.”
Forward Luc Mbah a Moute
On keys to the win …
“I think offensively we did a good job of sharing the ball. John (Salmons) really got us going, especially in the third quarter, made some big shots, really took us on his back, and that kind of ignited everybody else. Carlos (Delfino) got going, made some big threes for us. Just everybody. Brandon (Jennings) also made plays, driving, passing. We shared the ball really well, that helped us. We turned on our defense in the second half, and that was really good for us. We held them to 19 points in the third quarter, and from that point on it was pretty good establishment on our defense.”
On whether the team’s confidence is higher now that a week or two ago …
“You look at the last game we played, we felt like we played much better than we did against Boston and Atlanta. We played Orlando really tough, had a chance to win that game. Our confidence was still there. I think we felt like we played a really good game, and we had to come back and get this one, this is a game we needed. We had to come out with the same intensity – we did. We didn’t play good defense in the first half, but came back in the second half and did what we needed to do.”
Tonight’s win gives the Bucks a 3-0 sweep over New Jersey this season. Milwaukee has now won the last eight against the Nets.
Carlos Delfino hit his 200th 3-pointer as a Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter. Delfino later hit his 400th career 3-pointer in the third quarter. Delfino finished the night 8-11 from outside and totaling 26 points.The eight 3-point baskets are a career high for Delfino.
Milwaukee opened the game on a 10-2 run getting six points from Brandon Jennings during the stretch.
The Bucks led 29-26 at the end of the first quarter after Deron Williams scored a 3-point basket from half-court as time expired. Williams led New Jersey with nine points and John Salmons led Milwaukee with nine points as well. The Bucks shot 59.1 percent (13-22) from the field in the opening quarter.
New Jersey led 54-52 at the end of the first half. Brook Lopez and John Salmons led their teams with 14 points each. Milwaukee shot 53.8 percent (21-39) from the field in the first half. The Nets went on an 11-2 run in the second where Jordan Farmar scored three 3-point baskets in a two minute stretch.
Milwaukee led 80-73 at the end of the third quarter shooting 33-60 (55.0 percent) from the field. John Salmons and Carlos Delfino each scored nine points for the Bucks. Salmons ended the quarter with 23 points and Delfino had 18, all coming from outside (6-9).
The Bucks finished tonight’s game 56.8 percent (46-81)from the field improving to 10-0 when shooting 50.0 percent or better from the field.
Bucks improve to 12-3 when scoring 100 points or more.
John Salmons recorded 25 points, six assists and five rebounds in tonight’s game. It is the 17th time this season a Bucks player has recorded at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the 7th time this season for Salmons. Milwaukee is 13-4 when a player records the stat. Salmons shot 11-16 (68.8 percent) from the field.
All five starters for Milwaukee scored in double-digit points tonight (Delfino 26, Salmons 25, Jennings 16, Mbah a Moute 15 and Bogut 13).
Brandon Jennings recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 assists.
Kris Humphries recorded his 25th double-double of the season for New Jersey with 10 points and 11 rebounds. It is Humphries’ 9th consecutive double-double but he snapped his seven game streak of 15 or more rebounds.
BENCH BALLERS – On Wednesday, for the second consecutive game, the Bucks bench outscored their opponents
by double-figures with a 28-14 edge over Orlando. Milwaukee’s reserves have outscored their opponent’s reserves
in 13 of the last 16 games, by an average of 34.6-25.2 (554-403). This season, the Bucks bench has recorded an
equal or greater number of points than their opponent’s bench in 43 of the team’s 67 games.
PRINCES OF THIEVES – The Bucks have had double-digit steals in seven of their last eight contests and have
averaged 10.9 steals over those eight tilts (87) - that’s 3.4 steals over their season average of 7.5 (ninth in the
league). The leading culprits have been Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (2.1 steals, 15 in seven games) and Carlos
Delfino (2.0, 16) while Brandon Jennings (1.8, 14) and John Salmons (1.3, 10) have contributed at least 1.0 per
contest to the cause.
Those steals have helped Milwaukee force 18.6 turnovers per game, 3.2 more than their season average of 15.4
(seventh in the NBA). From those 18.6 turnovers (149), the Bucks are capitalizing with 19.5 points off turnovers
(156), which accounts for 22.0 percent of their 88.5 points per game during this stretch (708).
NEARING NUMBERS – On Wednesday against Orlando Brandon Jennings passed the 2,000 point mark for his career and John Salmons reached 2,000
rebounds. A few other milestones are on the horizon for Bucks players. Andrew Bogut (593) is seven blocks away from joining Alton Lister (804) and Harvey
Catchings (710) as the only Bucks with 600-plus blocks in franchise history. Chris Douglas-Roberts is (195) five assists away from 200. Brandon Jennings
(223) is nine 3-pointers away from passing Toni Kukoc and Lee Mayberry (231) for 10th place in franchise history. Carlos Delfino (394) is six 3-pointers from
400 for his career and (199) one 3-pointer away from 200 in his Bucks career. Delfino (294) also needs six steals for 300. John Salmons is (597) three
steals from 600 for his career. Keyon Dooling (443) is seven steals away from 450.
MOUT-ILITY PLAYER – Bucks forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has done a little bit of everything for the Bucks in his last eight games. Mbah a Moute has
averaged 9.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.5 assists in those eight games (Feb. 26, Mar. 6-16). Those numbers are all beyond his season averages
of 6.0 points, 5.4 boards, 0.9 steal and 0.9 assist. The third-year pro has done all of that while shooting 50.0 percent from the field (30-60) and attempting a
team-high 22 free throws with a tied for the team-best 15 makes.
The Bucks are currently 0-1 on a four-game homestand that runs through Wednesday, March 23. In this
stretch the team plays five of six tilts at home before ending the season with seven of 10 games on the road.
John Salmons finished Wednesday’s game with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. It was the 17th
time this season that a Bucks player recorded at least 15 points with five rebounds and five assists and the
sixth time that John Salmons has done it (second on the team to Brandon Jennings’ seven times). On the
season Milwaukee is 12-4 when they have a player accomplish the feat.
The Bucks are halfway through March, where they play 16 total games (10 at home). The last time they had
more then 16 games in a month was January 2009 (18). For more on the team’s numbers in March, check
the March Madness stat box to the right.
Brandon Jennings is averaging a team-high 16.8 points in March to go along with 4.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds
and 1.8 steals. He leads the Bucks in both 3-pointers (17) and free throws (24) this month and has tallied 20-
plus points in four of the team’s nine games. On Wednesday Jennings clocked in for a career-high 46 minutes
against the Magic, producing 23 points, eight assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Andrew Bogut missed Wednesday’s game with a migraine, causing the Bucks to use their 21st starting lineup
of the season. Last season (09-10) the team used 15 starting lineups and going back by year they’ve used 16
(08-09), 16 (07-08), 20 (06-07), 10 (05-06), 12 (04-05).
Carlos Delfino’s 1.9 3-pointers per game would tie him for 11th in the NBA if he had enough games to qualify.
