Denver, CO (My Sportsbook) - Chauncey Billups finished with 31 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a resounding 108-93 win over New Orleans in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Billups' performance followed a 36-point effort in Game 1, which Denver won by a 113-84 score. The Nuggets now hold a firm 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven set, which continues Saturday as the Hornets host Game 3.

"I'm in a nice little groove right now," Billups said. "The guys have been playing great, man, around me. It's been a lot of fun."

Denver has its first 2-0 postseason series lead since 1985 and is halfway to winning its first playoff set since 1994. The Nuggets have made a first-round playoff exit in each of the last five seasons.

Carmelo Anthony added 22 points and nine assists for the second-seeded Nuggets, while J.R. Smith scored 15 points off the bench. The Northwest Division champs shot 50 percent from the floor, making 9-of-16 three-pointers, and excelled in every facet of the game.

Denver totaled 26 assists on its 43 field goals, and committed only six turnovers. Additionally, the Nuggets scored 23 points off 17 New Orleans turnovers in the win.

David West had 21 points and 10 rebounds to pace seventh-seeded New Orleans, which also made 9-of-16 from beyond the arc but had only 34 field goals overall. Chris Paul had 14 points and 13 assists in the loss, while Peja Stojakovic added 17 points.

"That's one thing about this team," Paul said. "We're going to continue to fight. You're not going to have us down until it's four games (down) and zero seconds on the clock. We're going to keep fighting."

Denver held a 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter, but broke the game open with an 18-5 run to begin the frame. The Nuggets fueled the stretch with four three-pointers, as Smith drained two, and Billups and Anthony each had one.

Billups' trey ended the surge to give the Nuggets a 99-76 lead, and they cruised the final 7 1/2 minutes for the win.

Billups closed a back-and-forth first quarter with a three-pointer and two free throws to give Denver a 27-25 edge.

The teams continued to trade points in the early part of the second, but near the midway point, Billups converted a three-point play to spark an 11-0 run. Billups added a jumper during the stretch, then closed it with two free throws to put the Nuggets in front 45-33.

Two James Posey foul shots ended the first half to bring New Orleans within 52-44.

The teams traded points in the third quarter until Denver stretched its lead to 79-62 with about 2 1/2 minutes left, thanks to a six-point burst. But the Hornets scored nine of the final 11 points of the stanza -- with West pouring in six -- to trim the Nuggets' lead to 81-71 heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

Anthony's nine assists were a playoff career high...Kenyon Martin had 13 points and dished out a playoff career-high six assists for Denver...Rasual Butler had 12 points for the Hornets, while Tyson Chandler brought down 11 rebounds to go with seven points. Posey had 12 points and eight boards off the bench for New Orleans.