The Denver Nuggets won their first playoff series since 1994 by beating New Orleans 107-86 in game five of their first round National Basketball Association series on Wednesday.
Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Nuggets, who had a 58-point blowout in game four and will face the Dallas Mavericks in round two.
“It feels good,” Anthony said. “We worked so hard. We still got a lot of business to take care of, but we are going to soak this one in.”
Dallas advanced to the Western Conference semi-finals by defeating San Antonio in five games. Denver swept the season series with the Mavericks 4-0.
Anthony’s 34 points were a career playoff best. Chauncey Billups had 13 points and 11 assists, and J.R. Smith scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half to fuel Denver, which needed just five games to go from traditional first-round fodder to a playoff success story.
“They have so many weapons,” said Chris Paul of Denver. “They have a real tough team and they are tough to deal with.”
The game was tied 62-62 halfway through the third quarter before Denver went on a 24-4 run to seal it.
David West led the Hornets with 24 points and Paul had 12 points and 10 assists.
The Nuggets were coming off the most lopsided road win in NBA playoff history, a 121-63 shellacking in New Orleans on Monday.
The Hornets were 13-6 following a loss of 10 or more points, and they looked for much of this night like they were going to win. They built a nine-point first-quarter lead before settling for a 49-49 tie at half-time.
The Hornets went toe-to-toe with the Nuggets until Denver’s third-quarter run started the celebration.
It was especially sweet for Billups, who was born and raised in Denver. He came from Detroit in the Allen Iverson trade a week into the season and transformed his beloved Nuggets from an afterthought into the West’s second seed.
Meanwhile, Atlanta won the battle of staredowns and hard fouls, emerging from a four quarter slugfest with a 106-91 win over Miami in game five of their first round NBA playoff series.
Joe Johnson scored 25 points for the Hawks who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
There were plenty of testy moments in the game as Miami star Dwyane Wade banged his head on the floor in the first half. He later came back and finished with 29 points.
It was the best game of the playoffs for Johnson as the Hawks took control in a second quarter that elevated them to a 63-40 halftime lead. Flip Murray added 23 points.
Early on, Wade collided with Josh Smith and hit the back of his head hard on the court. He stumbled to the locker room for treatment, holding a towel to his head.
Not long after the NBA’s leading scorer returned, Al Horford was fouled hard by James Jones and fell into Wade on the way down, landing awkwardly on his right foot.
Horford managed to shoot two free throws, but it quickly became apparent he couldn’t go on. He was helped to the locker room, his arms draped around two trainers, and didn’t return.
Wade was already bothered by back spasms that contributed to a dismal nine-of-26 shooting performance in game four, which the Hawks won 81-71 to reclaim home-court advantage.
Still woozy from his blow to the head, Wade made only one-of-six shots in the first half.
The Hawks made 13-of-16 from the field in the second quarter, including their last 12 attempts.
With NBA commissioner David Stern looking on, both teams turned up the intensity level — and things nearly got out of hand in the first half.
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