Skiles

On tonight’s game…
“It was really a difficult game to see if it paid any dividends or not. Oklahoma City had some good stretches, but you could see that last night’s emotional win took something out of them. We’ll go the same way on Monday and see what happens.”
                       
On changing up the starting lineup …
“I just felt like I needed to change something. In all honesty I probably waited too long. I was probably a little bit too patient with the other ones based on the fact that we went 4-16 in out last twenty games going into tonight. We wanted to get another defender in the lineup and I thought (Luc) Mbah a Moute did a great job on (Kevin) Durant.”

On Luke Ridnour …
“He shot the ball well. Before he hurt his thumb he was having a really good stretch where he was playing nice floor games and playing good defense. That injury set him back and derailed his season for him. Then he came back earlier than he was supposed to and was playing hurt. He’s kind of had an injury filled year so I was happy for him.”

Alexander

On tonight’s game…
“On both ends of the floor everything was clicking. We had multiple guys giving great efforts out there and it seemed like everybody was executing. Even when Oklahoma was coming at us and trying to start a run, we had guys responding right away.”
                       
On his rookie season …
“I’ve been overall pretty disappointed how I showed this year. At the same time I learned when I got here I wasn’t quite at the level I thought I’d be at. Once I realized that I started focusing on just improving everyday. As far as that goes I think I’ve done a good job.”

Villanueva

On coming off the bench…
“It gets the second unit going and gets a scorer out there. That’s what I’m going to bring for the games that I come off the bench.”
                       
On finishing the season …
“Whatever Coach (Skiles) wants me to do I’m going to do it. We’re trying to finish the season out strong on a positive note. We’re playing to win every game. We’re not playing for the lottery, lottery balls, or anything like that.”

• The Bucks started the game on a 6-0 run, aided by the Thunder missing their first five shots from the field.  Oklahoma City would recover and take a 24-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Richard Jefferson paced the Bucks with 12 points while Russell Westbrook scored 6 for the Thunder.
• The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair until the 2:00 mark, when the Bucks began to build their first significant lead of the game at 56-49.  The first half saw 8 lead changes and Milwaukee held a 56-51 advantage going into the locker room.  The Bucks shot 55 percent (22-40) from the field in the first half.
• Richard Jefferson was hot to start the second half, knocking down two consecutive three-point jumpers.  Jefferson scored 13 points in the quarter on 4-5 FG shooting.  Milwaukee went on to outscore the Thunder 37-21 in the third quarter, taking a 93-72 lead into the final frame.
• The second half was all Milwaukee, as the Bucks outscored the Thunder 59-47.  Jefferson scored 17 second half points and Luke Ridnour added 12 on perfect 6-6 FG shooting to lead the Bucks to victory.
• Tonight’s contest was the third game of the Bucks four-game homestand that ends with the final home game of the season on Monday night against the Orlando Magic.  With tonight’s win, Milwaukee moved to 1-2 on the current homestand.
• With the victory tonight, the Bucks guaranteed themselves a +.500 record at the Bradley Center this season.  With one home game remaining, Milwaukee boasts a 21-19 record inside the friendly confines of the Bradley Center.
• Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva both scored 20 points in the first matchup with Oklahoma City earlier this season.  Tonight, Jefferson and Villanueva were among 6 Bucks players in double figures.  Jefferson tied a season high with 35 points on 13-21 FG shooting.
• Over the last six contests, the Bucks are averaging (27.8) assists (167) per game.  That number is well above their season average of 21.7 (8th in the NBA).  Tonight, Milwaukee distributed the basketball very well, dishing out 31 assists.
• With tonight’s victory, the Bucks completed a season sweep of the Thunder, winning the previous matchup 98-87 on October 29 in Oklahoma City.
• Oklahoma City leads the league in turnovers per game with a 16.3 average.  Tonight, the Thunder committed 16 turnovers.
• Kevin Durant entered tonight’s game as the league’s fifth-leading scorer at 25.6 points per game.  Durant led the Thunder with 19 points on 6-13 FG shooting.
• The Bucks snapped a five game home losing streak that dates back to March 18 with tonight’s victory.