Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined to hit 22 of 37 shots from the floor as the Bucks' offense connected at a 52.4 percent clip and made 9 of 25 3-point attempts despite playing without center John Henson (hamstring) and forward Jabari Parker, who was held out of the second game of a back-to-back as he eases his way back after returning from ACL surgery.
Defensively, the Bucks held Orlando to 44.6 percent shooting and an 8-for-30 mark from distance.
Mario Hezonja led the Magic with 23 points while Evan Fournier finished with 20 and Shelvin Mack added 19 off the bench on 8-of-10 shooting.
Hezonja scored nine of Orlando's first 11 points and the Magic used a 9-0 run late in the opening quarter to take a 29-22 lead. Antetokounmpo knocked down a jumper with 3.3 seconds left in the quarter but Milwaukee, which went 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, went into the second down 29-24 to the Magic, who connected on five long-range attempts.
The Magic stretched their lead to nine in the second before Milwaukee responded, but Mack made all six of his shots in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Orlando held on to a 54-50 lead at halftime.
Milwaukee outscored Orlando 13-8 to open the second half and regained the lead when Middleton fed Antetokounmpo for a dunk with 8:04 left in the third.
A jumper from Middleton gave the Bucks a 100-93 lead with 3:04 left. Simmons and Fournier followed with buckets to get the Magic within three with 2:19 remaining, but a 9-3 run including five from Antetokounmpo put Milwaukee up nine and the Bucks held on for the victory.
Orlando had won three straight coming into the game while Milwaukee improved to 8-2 under Joe Prunty, who took over as head coach when Jason Kidd was fired on Jan. 22.
--Field Level Media
Milwaukee | Orlando | |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 32 | Scoring | Mario Hezonja 23 |
Eric Bledsoe 8 | Assists | Shelvin Mack 10 |
Khris Middleton 9 | Rebounds | Khem Birch 9 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 4 | Free Throws Made | D.J. Augustin 7 |
Sean Kilpatrick 2 | Steals | Mario Hezonja 3 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo 2 | Blocks | Bismack Biyombo 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Milwaukee | 111 | 52.4 | 9-25 | 16-20 | 28 | 41 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
Orlando | 104 | 44.6 | 8-30 | 22-26 | 23 | 41 | 3 | 7 | 12 |