CLEVELAND (AP):

Newly crowned NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James scored 34 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who waited nine days between play-off games after a first-round sweep, pulled away in the second half for a 99-72 win over the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference semi-final opener on Tuesday.

Showing why he was voted the league's best player in a landslide, James added 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals as the top-seeded Cavs won their fifth straight lopsided game in a post-season that has so far mirrored the best regular season in franchise history.

First time in 10 years

Mo Williams added 21 points for Cleveland, which has won each of its five games by double figures.

Josh Smith scored 22 and Mike Bibby 19 for the Hawks, who needed seven games to get past Miami and are playing in the second round for the first time in 10 years.

At Denver, Carmelo Anthony led another fourth-quarter blitz by Denver Nuggets, which overcame Dirk Nowitzki's 35 to lead Dallas Mavericks to a 117-105 win and a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Anthony scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Nene scored 25, J.R. Smith had 21 and Chauncey Billups 18 for the Nuggets, who won for the 15th straight time at the Pepsi Centre, where they haven't lost since March 11.

The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Saturday night and the Mavericks can only hope they're going to be as good on their home court as the Nuggets were on theirs.

The Nuggets, whose six post-season wins have come by an average of 24.8 points, broke open a back-and-forth game by starting the fourth quarter on a 16-2 run, sparked by Anthony's 10 points, to take a 102-85 lead.