Nuggets eliminate the Hornets, 107-86

With a little help from the hometown kid, Carmelo Anthony is finally moving on.

Behind Anthony’s 34 points and the floor leadership of Chauncey Billups, the Denver native who came home this season and galvanized a city and a team, the host Nuggets advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs by beating the New Orleans Hornets, 107-86, in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

After five straight first-round flameouts, Anthony led the Nuggets to their first playoff series win since 1994. They’ll face the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Denver swept the season series with Dallas, 4-0.

Anthony’s 34 points were a career playoff best. Billups had 13 points and 11 assists.

Despite the final score, the capper wasn’t nearly as easy as Denver’s three other wins, including the 58-point blowout in Game 4 that matched the NBA record.

Playing without Tyson Chandler (ankle) but with a pride and passion not evident through most of the series, the Hornets made the Nuggets sweat. It was tied at 62 midway through the third period before Denver went on a 24-4 run.

David West led the Hornets with 24 points and Chris Paul had 12 points and 10 assists.

Atlanta 106, Miami 91 -- On a night of hard fouls, plenty of banging and staredowns galore, the host Hawks moved closer to reaching the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade, beating the Heat to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

Joe Johnson had his best game of the postseason with 25 points for Atlanta, which led, 63-40, at halftime. Flip Murray scored 23 points off the bench. Dwyane Wade had 29 points for Miami but didn’t get going until the game was already decided.

While the outcome was never really in question, there was plenty of extracurricular activity to spice up the fifth straight game decided by a double-figure margin.