Michael Malone notches 400th regular season win as coach of the Denver Nuggets

There have been many great Denver Nuggets coaches throughout the franchise's history, but Michael Malone is carving out his spot as one of the very best. The head coach notched his 400th regular season victory as the Nuggets coach on Monday night in an exciting back-and-forth contest with the Milwaukee Bucks.

"It means that I've been here a long time," Malone said after the game.

Only two other coaches have recorded more wins as Nuggets coaches in the regular season -- George Karl (423) and Doug Moe (432). Malone, of course, is also the only Nuggets head coach who led his team to an NBA championship.

Malone's squad struggled early at Ball Arena against Milwaukee's stars, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Brook Lopez. The Bucks built a 13-point lead early, but the Nuggets reserves helped Denver get back in the game and things were tied at the end of the second quarter. By game's end the Nuggets had a small lead and were able to fight off Milwaukee's final comeback attempt when Aaron Gordon blocked Lillard's layup attempt with 24.7 seconds remaining. The game featured 12 ties and nine lead changes.

"I mean, that's why I play -- to play these kinds of games, to play under the pressure, to play tight games," Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic said. "I like to play under those circumstances."

Jokic had another triple-double -- 25 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists -- and Jamal Murray scored 35 for the Nuggets.