MILWAUKEE -- With their young nucleus playing some of its best basketball of the season and facing an opponent that had gone into overtime the night before, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they had an opportunity in front of them Saturday night, and they made the most of it getting 19 points from Khris Middleton and another 18 from Giannis Antetokounmpo in a 103-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Antetokounmpo had recorded the first three triple-doubles of his career over the last month but it was Middleton's chance to flirt with the feat Saturday. He almost pulled it off, too, grabbing 10 rebounds but fell just short, with eight assists.

Those two anchored a Milwaukee offense that despite going four-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc, shot just under 50 percent (40-for-81) from the field and dominated in the paint, outscoring the Pelicans, 56-44.

"We shared the ball tonight and got stops," Middleton said. "When we could, we tried to push the pace some and get up and down (the floor). We got a good game from everybody."

All five Bucks starters scored in double figures and off the bench, Tyler Ennis added another 10 on four of six shooting in just eight minutes of work.

"The ball didn't stick tonight," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "The ball was moving and that helped us get some wide open looks."

Defensively, Milwaukee held the Pelicans to 39.3 percent shooting and just six-for-29 on 3-point attempts while forcing 16 turnovers.

"A lot of those were unforced errors and that's a lack of concentration," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "We have to do a little better job of concentrating and not turning the ball over in those situations."

Their turnovers were especially costly late in the third quarter.

Down three at halftime, the Pelicans took a 71-69 lead on Jrue Holiday's reverse lay-up with 4:22 left in the quarter. Milwaukee answered with a 19-footer from Middleton to tie it up at 71 and after Antetokounmpo blocked Ryan Anderson, Jabari Parker put the Bucks ahead with a tip-in dunk.

The Pelicans would turn the ball over on their next two possessions, then Davis had two shots blocked by Miles Plumlee and Parker hit a pair of free throws to close out the quarter, sending Milwaukee into the fourth up six.

"We got it to 71-71 but down the stretch, we just couldn't make the plays," Gentry said. "We turned the ball over a couple of times on careless turnovers.

"This team, if you turn the ball over, they get down the court and make you pay for turnovers. We just had way too many of those at crucial times. We had possessions that could have cut the lead to three or two or one but we'd turn it over and they went down and scored."

New Orleans made just eight of 24 shots in the third and gave up 11 points on 10 turnovers.

"Me and Jrue had some miscommunication plays," said Davis, who led New Orleans with 29 points.

New Orleans also got a career-high 16 points from Luke Babbit, who was moved into the starting lineup to help cut down on Holiday's minutes. Babbit hit seven of 17 shots and also grabbed nine rebounds with three assists and a steal in 38 minutes of action, which also marked a career-high.

"I wanted to be aggressive," Babbit said. "It just wasn't enough tonight."

The Pelicans have lost three in a row and seven of their last eight games, overall. On the road, New Orleans has dropped six of its last seven and five straight.

NOTES: After playing 41 minutes in the Pelicans' overtime loss at Memphis Friday night, Jrue Holiday was not in the starting lineup when New Orleans took on the Bucks on Saturday in Milwaukee. Head coach Alvin Gentry said the move was an attempt to manage Holiday's minutes. ... F Luke Babbit started in place of Holiday against the Bucks. ... F John Henson could return to Milwaukee's rotation sometime next week. Bucks coach Jason Kidd said Henson was able to return to a full workload in practice, but would need some time before he's ready to see game action. Henson has been sidelined because of a sore back since Jan. 26.