When playoff time comes around, the Nuggets will no doubt be glad they went through a rugged game like this one.

Because, oftentimes, opposing teams come into Ball Arena, make a couple of runs, and then fade away. But not the Milwaukee Bucks. Not on Monday night playing their first game under new coach Doc Rivers.

Led by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 29-point performance and center Brook Lopez’s five 3-pointers, the Bucks pushed Denver to the limit.

In the end, however, the Nuggets made the big plays in the big moments and played tenacious defense en route to an entertaining 113-107 victory.

There was no bigger play than Peyton Watson’s steal and lead pass to Michael Porter Jr. for a breakaway layup and a 102-97 Denver lead with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game.

And when Denver needed creative, one-on-one offense, especially in the first half, it turned to guard Jamal Murray, who led all scorers with 35 points.

“I was going to the rim today and just giving whatever the defense gave me,” Murray said. “I didn’t feel like I did too much today. I thought it was a good team effort. It really came down to how we defended.”

That defense was what pleased coach Michael Malone the most on a night when he notched his 400th career win in Denver.

“I’ll give you some numbers that kind of illustrate how good our defense was tonight,” Malone said. “On the season, (Milwaukee) averages 50% from the field; they shot 42 tonight. On the season, that team averages 124 points and tonight they had 107. They average 50 (points) in the paint, they had 26 tonight. Those are great numbers.”

And, of course, there was Nikola Jokic. He finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists for his 14th career-double this season and his sixth career triple-double vs. Milwaukee. His beautiful feed to Porter for a slam put Denver ahead, 104-97, with 3:46 left.

“Nikola’s activity tonight was impressive,” Malone said. “He had 15 defensive rebounds, two blocks and three steals. … We had a lot of guys step up tonight and we had a complete buy-in and a lot of commitment and discipline.”

Jokic loves playing in games such as Monday night’s, and he said it’s good for the Nuggets’ younger players, too.

“This is why (I love) playing these kinds of games, to play under pressure,” Jokic said. “I think that’s what every player’s dream is, to perform or not to perform in those situations.

“I love to play under those circumstances and I think it’s a great (experience) for young players, especially.”

The Bucks, perhaps energized with Rivers on their bench for the first time, came out rolling. Pun intended. What’s more, they out-hustled Denver early on, taking a 17-6 lead on a long 3-pointer by Damian Lillard. With 3:36 left in the first quarter, Milwaukee led 26-13, sparked by its 64.7% shooting.

The Nuggets’ offense, thrown completely out of sync by the Bucks’ tight interior defense, and with showing little flow without the basketball, shot just 29.4% (5 for 17).

But Denver, with Jokic on the bench, and its bench carrying the load, went on a 15-0 run to take a 28-27 lead. The game see-sawed to a 56-56 tie at the half, with Murray injecting life into the Nuggets’ offense. He scored 21 points in the first half, sinking nine of his 15 shots.

Antetokounmpo is having a career year. He entered Monday averaging 31 points per game on a career-high 61 percent shooting from the field, along with 11.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. After a relatively quiet first half (10 points on 5-of-7 shooting), but tried to take command in the second. He almost succeeded.

But the Nuggets were too deep and too good in the second half. Denver won its fifth straight game at home, where it is 19-4 this season, and improved to 33-15 overall.

Before Monday night’s game, Malone dodged a question about his 400th win. Afterward, he was thankful.

“When I think of 400 wins with the Denver Nuggets, I think of (owners) Stan and Josh Kroenke, believing in me, and more importantly, continuing to believe in me,” Malone said. “That happened long before we won a championship. So that belief empowers you to do your job, knowing when you have the confidence of the ownership group.

“It speaks to tremendous players. I mean, how lucky am I to be a coach who gets to coach Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope), Aaron Gordon? And not just the guys who are here right now, but all along the way.”

Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.