NBA Scores Western Conference Playoffs: Denver Nuggets Use Third Quarter Surge to Bury New Orleans Hornets, Win Series

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, Chauncey Billups added 13 points and 11 assists and J.R. Smith finished with 20 points after hitting 5-8 from beyond the three-point line as the Denver Nuggets knocked off the New Orleans Hornets 107-86 on Wednesday night to win their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 4-1. They will now face the Dallas Mavericks in the next round, a team they beat in all four of their regular season meetings.

New Orleans came out in the first quarter and looked like they had put their 58-point loss to the Nuggets in Game 4 behind them as they hung tight with the Nuggets then used a 9-0 run to grab a 25-16 lead with 1:56 left in the frame. Denver cut their deficit to one after Chris Andersen scored 6 points during an 8-0 run but David West sank a pair of free-throws to close the quarter and the Hornets were in front 27-24. Neither team could make a run in the second as both held small advantages but by the end of the half the score was knotted at 49-49.

The first seven minutes of the third quarter remained close as the Hornets appeared determined to force the series back to New Orleans and with 5:20 left in the frame the game was tied at 62-62. That’s when the Nuggets made their move and a 14-0 run put them in front 76-62 and that 14-point advantage remained when the quarter ended. New Orleans had no shot in the fourth as Denver pushed their lead to as many as 24 points and the Hornets had nothing left.

Denver shot 51 percent from the field and were a solid 23-27 from the foul-line while holding the Nuggets to just 38 percent shooting.

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