(My Sportsbook) - Trading for Chauncey Billups has certainly paid off for the Northwest Division champion Denver Nuggets.

The playoff-tested Billups, who was acquired from Detroit early this season, is the pure point guard George Karl has lacked since arriving in the Rocky Mountains.

Billups' presence has already helped Denver win a postseason series for the first time in 15 years after the club dismantled New Orleans in five games during the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Now, the second-seeded Nuggets move on to face the upstart Dallas Mavericks in the West semifinals beginning Sunday at the Pepsi Center. The sixth-seeded Mavs dispatched of San Antonio, also in five games.

With Billups running the show this season the Nuggets have earned home-court advantage in the playoffs for the first time since 1988, tied a franchise record for regular season wins with 54 and snapped an ugly six series losing streak in the first round of the playoffs.

Star forward Carmelo Anthony finished with 34 points in the Game 5 clincher against the Hornets on Wednesday, as Denver pulled away for a 107-86 win. The Nuggets won the series in dominating fashion, having taken each of its victories by double digits -- including a 121-63 shellacking in Game 4 that matched the largest margin of defeat in NBA playoff history.

The victory gave the Nuggets their first playoff series win since 1994, when they defeated Seattle in the West quarters. Meanwhile, Billups, who led the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference finals and the 2004 NBA title, helped Anthony get out of the first round after five straight losses.

"Our confidence is very high right now," Billups said. "We're feeling really good about how we're playing, about the unselfishness of the team and how we're locked in on defensive coverages and stuff. We're feeling really good."

Mark Cuban's Mavs, meanwhile, moved on when Dirk Nowitzki poured home 31 points with nine rebounds and Jason Terry, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, added 19 points off the bench, as Dallas secured its quarterfinals series with a comfortable 106-93 victory over San Antonio in the Alamo City on Tuesday.

The Spurs, who were playing without last season's Sixth Man of the Year, Manu Ginobili, lost in the opening round for the first time since 2000 and were bested in a first round series for the first time with perennial All-Star Tim Duncan.

"To win two games on the road in a tough environment was good," said Nowitzki. "It felt like we couldn't get out of the first round since we made it to the Finals. It's a big step for us and our role players played great throughout the whole series."

Denver dominated its series with the Mavs in the regular season, winning all four contests but most of the games were very close. The Nuggets beat Dallas by three, 10, two and two points in the four contests.

Meanwhile, The teams have met just one time in the postseason, a 4-2 Dallas win in the West semis in 1988.

MATCHUPS:

POINT GUARD: When you talk MVP candidates, you usually think of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade or Chris Paul. But, Billups deserves consideration this year and outplayed Paul in the quarterfinals, averaging 22.6 points and 7.4 assists. His unselfishness and ability to get everyone involved can't be underestimated.

Chauncey averaged 17.7 points and 6.4 assists per game during the regular season but numbers don't begin to tell the story. Billups' floor game is unparalleled. He rarely turns the ball over and shoots a mind-number 91.3 percent from the free throw line, making him the ultimate ball-handler in late game situations. Billups had 37 assists versus just six turnovers against the Hornets, a better than 6-to-1 ratio, almost incomprehensible against a defender like Paul. His free throw percentage actually went up to 94.7 percent and he stroked 19-of-29 three-pointers in the set, a sizzling 65.5 percent clip.

Jason Kidd isn't exactly chopped liver for the Mavs, however. The veteran is still one of the game's best distributors and was one of just three NBA players this year to notch three-or- more triple doubles, joining James (seven) and Paul (six).

Overall, Kidd scored 9.0 ppg and dished out 8.7 assists during the regular season but his jump shot was as iffy as ever, nailing just 41.6 percent of his shots from the floor.

J-Kidd's offensive numbers went up in the first round, scoring 10.0 ppg but his assists were down to 5.6 as he lost minutes since he couldn't check the lightning fast Tony Parker. Billups isn't nearly as quick as Parker so Kidd should be able to play more minutes in this set.

EDGE: NUGGETS

SHOOTING GUARD: Coming into the Hornets series Dahntay Jones was the starter in name only for the Nuggets. Sharp-shooter J.R. Smith comes off the bench to provide instant offense and play the majority of minutes and Jones averaged just 5.4 points per game during the regular season, although he did shoot the ball pretty well at 45.8 percent. Against New Orleans, Jones was far more important as he shadowed Paul on the defensive end, freeing up Billups, and provided more offense than expected, upping his scoring output to 8.2 ppg.

The Mavs' Jose Juan Barea gives the team two solid ball-handlers in the backcourt. Barea contributed 10.0 points and 4.6 assists apg against the Spurs, and gives Dallas coach Rick Carlisle a lot of options when running the offense.

EDGE: EVEN

CENTER: When Motivated, the Mavs' Erick Dampier is a plodding pivot that can be a presence on the glass and a deterrent to anyone with a desire to drive the lane. His offense leaves a lot to be desired, however, although he did contribute 8.4 points along with 8.4 rebounds in the first round of the playoffs.

Denver counters with a much more skilled big man in Nene. The Brazilian star isn't thought of as an elite center but put up some nice numbers this season, averaging 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting a robust 60.4 percent from the floor. His scoring numbers went way down in the first round (9.0) but he stayed consistent on the boards (7.8).

Nene doesn't offer a particularly threatening presence on the defensive end but has improved that aspect of his game as well.

EDGE: NUGGETS

SMALL FORWARD: Although snubbed for the All-Star game this year, Anthony is one of the top 15 players in the game and a tough matchup for anyone. The former Syracuse standout's numbers weren't as big as normal in the regular season, netting 22.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg but he provides Karl a deadly pick-and- roll option with Billups in the closing minutes of games. Anthony improved to 24.0 points per game against New Orleans and added 6.0 rpg and 5.2 apg

The athletic Josh Howard is Dallas' most unheralded player. Howard missed 30 games this season with a balky ankle but was very productive (18.0, 5.1 rpg) when on the floor and scored with consistency from inside and out. He averaged 18.8 ppg against the Spurs in the opening round of the postseason, second on the team. Howard isn't Anthony but he ain't bad.

EDGE: NUGGETS

POWER FORWARD: Denver's Kenyon Martin plays as hard as ever and is quite the defensive presence and rebounder when on the floor. Overall, Martin averaged 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on the year and stayed relatively steady in the first round of the postseason.

The Mavs, meanwhile, sport All-Star Dirk Nowitzki at power forward. The German star filled it up to the tune of 25.9 ppg and 8.4 rpg during the regular season. The former MVP finished the season with 26 double-doubles and tied a career-high for 30-point games in a season with 26.

Things come much tougher in the postseason but Nowitzki still managed to score 19.2 ppg and add 8.6 rpg against the Spurs. He also shot a solid 49.3 from the floor in the first round but was an uncharacteristic 1-of-8 from long range.

EDGE: MAVERICKS

BENCH:Karl has one star coming off the bench and a number of nice role players. Smith has developed into one of the game's dominant three-point specialists and rang up a career-high 45 points after shooting 11-of-18 from beyond in a late season game against Sacramento. For the year, Smith averaged 15.2 ppg and shot 39.7 percent from long range, nailing 180 total threes. He improved that to 16 ppg in the first round, shooting 42.4 percent from the land of three. He does, however, take bad shots that will frustrate Karl at times.

If Karl needs extra scoring, he can look to Linas Kleiza, who averaged 9.9 points and knocked down 87 threes on the year. Chris Andersen brings shot- blocking, rebounding and defense, while Anthony Carter can spell Billups in the backcourt.

Terry has been money all year, netting 19.6 points per game in the regular season, second on the team to Nowitzki. The playoffs have been more of a struggle and Terry scored just 13.4 ppg and shot only 38.1 percent against San Antonio.

Meanwhile, guard Antoine Wright and forward Brandon Bass have also given Carlisle effective minutes on a nightly basis.

EDGE: EVEN

PREDICTION: It's hard to imagine Billups playing at the same level for another series but his presence and playoff-tested mettle can't be underestimated. The Nuggets swept the season series with Dallas but three of the four contests were one-possession games. I like Billups and Anthony running the pick-and- roll in that situation over Terry and Nowitzki.

NUGGETS in 6.