For the second time in three games, Khris Middleton scored a career-high 30 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks snatch a close 97-91 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

With 3:10 remaining in the final period, Middleton nailed a triple from the corner to put Milwaukee up 91-89. A Tobias Harris’ layup tied it at 91 apiece but the Magic proceeded to miss its final four shots. The nail in the coffin came when Middleton missed a shot but got the offensive rebound and gave the ball to Zaza Pachulia, who shoveled it to Giannis Antetokounmpo for the slam right as the shot clock expired to give the Bucks a 95-91 advantage with 19 seconds left.

Middleton also tallied 30 points Saturday in a win against the Washington Wizards and was 12-of-17 from the floor including 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc. All five starters scored in double figures including 12 from Ersan Ilyasova, 11 from Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams, and 10 from Zaza Pachulia to go along with 12 boards and five assists.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 14 boards to lead the Magic, but he also had five turnovers. Tobias Harris added 17 points though he shot only 7-for-16 from the field while Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo each had 14 points. With the loss, Orlando dropped its ninth straight road game and has not won away from home since Jan. 12 at Chicago.

In the first quarter both teams had trouble gaining traction and were mired in a sluggish pace. Neither team could pull away from each other. Milwaukee had scored seven straight points to make it 18-13 only to have Orlando respond with seven straight points of their own. From that point on, defense was a non-factor as each team traded baskets until the Magic ended the quarter with a 31-29 lead as they shot 54 percent compared to 52 percent for the Bucks.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as the biggest lead each team had was three points. A bucket by Channing Frye made it 42-39 until the Bucks took a 45-42 lead after a Pachulia jumper. Then, the game was tied several more times until the Magic scored the final five for the 57-54 halftime advantage. The Bucks outshot the Magic 54-to-50 percent and had 19 total assists in the first half, but they also turned the ball over nine times in the second quarter alone.

Orlando had seemed to have taken control in the third as Vucevic scored three consecutive baskets to give the Magic its biggest lead of the night, 70-60. That was until Milwaukee caught fire and answered with a 12-2 run including the final eight points of the period to make it a 72-72 tie heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, it was a classic back-and-forth battle. A basket by John Henson put the Bucks up 79-74, but the Magic responded with three consecutive treys that got them within one, 84-83. The teams exchanged the lead a handful of times until Khris Middleton hit the crucial three down the stretch.

After a four-game absence due to a right hamstring injury, O.J. Mayo returned and totaled four points in 10 minutes, while Jerryd Bayless missed tonights game with a sore right ankle.

The Bucks will take on the Pacers on Thursday while the Magic look to avoid losing their tenth straight on the road as they visit Boston on Friday.