The Milwaukee Bucks continued their impressive play at home this season with a 123-115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee moved to 21-9 overall and 14-3 at home, while New Orleans fell to 15-17 overall and an abysmal 4-12 on the road.

Giannis Antetokounmpo earned the win in the showdown with fellow superstar Anthony Davis and finished with 25 points, eight assists, eight boards, two steals and a block. The Pelicans' big man countered with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals but is on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff picture with the season's halfway point approaching.

It wasn't just the two headliners who contributed, as Jrue Holiday (25 points and 12 assists) notched a double-double for New Orleans. Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the victors.

Anthony Davis' Best Chance at a Title is Escaping New Orleans

The Pelicans made Davis the face of their franchise in 2012 when they selected him with the No. 1 overall pick but have not enjoyed much playoff success.

While the Kentucky product is a generational talent who would instantly make almost any roster a playoff contender, there has been a clear ceiling in New Orleans. The franchise has made the playoffs just twice during his career with a single series victory.

It doesn't have enough game-changing talent around him to compete with the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets or Los Angeles Lakers in a playoff series, and his future has been under the spotlight this season as a result.

Davis can become a free agent following the 2019-20 campaign with a player option for 2020-21 on his contract, and trade talk has already picked up since the Pelicans may need to move him in an effort to avoid losing one of the league's best playmakers without a significant return package.

LeBron James—who shares an agent with the big man—said it would be "amazing" if the Lakers traded for Davis, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the Lakers "dream of beating out" the Boston Celtics in a trade for the five-time All-Star even though they have eyes on eventually signing a major free agent like Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t McMenamin) said of the Lakers: "They're not going to give away picks and their top young players in some deal that makes them incrementally better this season because they've got to save all those assets for Anthony Davis, a big trade this summer pre- or post-free agency."

A Davis and James combination would be one of the best in NBA history and make the Lakers immediate title contenders. James has been to eight straight NBA Finals, and Chris Bosh was the only big man he played with in the same stratosphere as Davis talentwise.

Playing with a Celtics team that reached last season's Eastern Conference Finals with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward sidelined would also be a massive upgrade to Davis' title chances and create an opportunity where he can compete in the playoffs without having to worry about the Warriors until a potential NBA Finals matchup.

New Orleans can't match up with the Lakers or Celtics and has done nothing of note in the postseason throughout Davis' career. If he is ever going to cash in on his talent and lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy, it will need to be with a different team.

Bucks Must Re-Sign Middleton to Maximize Giannis' Window

"We're gonna do everything we can to keep him." 

That is what a Bucks official said about the team attempting to re-sign swingman Khris Middleton, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Middleton has a player option on his contract for the 2019-20 campaign and can leave after this season.

The fact Antetokounmpo is only under contract for two more seasons makes the Middleton (14 points, five assists and five rebounds) situation all the more pressing. Milwaukee needs to surround Antetokounmpo with talent seeing how it isn't exactly a marquee free-agent destination, and keeping Middleton is a way to do just that.

He is just 27 years old and has thrived playing alongside the MVP candidate.

Middleton averaged 20.1 points per game last season and entered Wednesday's game posting 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists a night while shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range in 2018-19. He has consistently taken advantage of openings created when defenders collapse on Antetokounmpo with his outside stroke, helping Milwaukee form one of the better one-two punches in the East.

The Bucks' net rating was 10.6 with Middleton on the floor entering Wednesday's contest, which wasn't far behind Antetokounmpo's 11.3, per NBA.com.

Milwaukee is only guaranteed to have Antetokounmpo for two more seasons and needs to prove to him it will do whatever it takes to remain a contender in the Eastern Conference. The quote from the team official should encourage Bucks fans because Middleton is not the type of talent a smaller-market team can afford to let walk.

If he does, it wouldn't be a surprise if Antetokounmpo eventually follows him out the door.

What's Next?

Both teams are on the road Friday with the Bucks playing the Celtics and the Pelicans facing the Lakers.