Jamal Murray leads Nuggets to gritty win over Bucks – The Denver Post

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).