The Orlando Magic knew the importance of staying close to the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter.
It was a four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter that ultimately hurt the Magic, who are now on the brink of postseason elimination.
Khris Middleton scored eight of his 21 points during a decisive 16-point run as the Bucks turned away the Magic for a 121-106 victory in Game 4 on Monday.
The Bucks now hold a 3-1 lead the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Wednesday at 4 p.m. at AdventHealth Arena at Disney World. It will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida and NBA TV.
Nikola Vucevic continued his stellar postseason play with 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Magic. Terrence Ross finished with 19 points while Markelle Fultz had 15 points and Evan Fournier and Gary Clark scored 12 apiece.
Vucevic and Clark combined for 10 of Orlando's 18 3-pointers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead Milwaukee, which outscored Orlando 42-20 in the paint.
Middleton sank two 3-pointers and drained a fall-away baseline jumper for his eight points as Milwaukee used a 18-2 burst to open the fourth quarter to create separation.
To that point, the Magic played step-for-step with the Bucks.
The Magic got the start they wanted. While they didn't lead after the first quarter, they hung with the Bucks and trailed by just four. The deficit was just six at halftime.
The Magic later erased a nine-point deficit in the third quarter with a 12-2 run and led by one with 3:00 left in the frame.
But the Magic missed five of their first six shots to go along with a turnover to open the fourth. That was more than enough for the Bucks, who took a 102-83 lead after a Middleton 3 with 8:12 left to play.
Orlando responded with a 14-3 burst to close within 105-97 on a 3 by Vucevic with 5:24 remaining.
The Magic later were down seven with the ball but Ross misfired on a 3 and the Bucks got a 3 by Kyle Korver to go back up by 10. Orlando never got closer as it managed just four points over the final 3:29.
