The Nuggets matched a playoff record for win margin, beating the Hornets, 121-63, in New Orleans.

I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

The box score is amazing. The Nuggets had seven players in double-digits; the Hornets had three. The Nuggets shot 57% from the field and 50% from long range; the Hornets shot 32% and 13%, respectively. Denver outrebounded New Orleans, 41-32. The Nuggets turned the ball over 11 times; the Hornets turned it over 26 times.

In short, Denver dominated virtually every aspect of this game.

How does this happen to a team that has two All-Stars (Chris Paul and David West) and a pretty decent supporting cast? At home?

The Hornets added James Posey this offseason because they were supposed to make a run to the Finals. But things just haven’t clicked this year. One night they’ll look great and beat a contender, the next night they’ll lose at home to a bottom feeder. The Tyson Chandler on-again, off-again trade might have sent this franchise into a bit of a tailspin, and it’s not clear how long it’s going to take to straighten things out.

Two more games on TNT, two more double-digit wins. The Heat beat the Hawks, 108-93, to even up the series at 1-1 and the Nuggets beat the Hornets, 108-93 (that’s not a typo, both games had the same final score), to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Meanwhile, NBA TV had the best game of the night (again) with Orlando’s 96-87 win over Philly to even the series at one apiece. Here are a few random observations from Wednesday night’s action:

- Dwight Howard fouled out with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, but couldn’t catch a break with the refs. Nice job by Courtney Lee (24 points), Hedo Turkoglu (16 points) and Rashard Lewis (16 points) to pick up the slack and get the win without their big man. Howard’s backup, Marcin Gortat, had six rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.

- Lee is looking like the real deal. He might be a little small for a shooting guard, but he’s listed at 6’5″, so who knows. He’s averaging 21 points in two playoff games, can knock down the three and can finish at the rim. Not bad for the #22 pick in the draft.

- The Sixers were a three-man show. Outside of Andre Miller (30 points), Andre Iguodala (21 points) and Thaddeus Young (20 points), Philly didn’t have another player score more than five points. Miller, Iggy and Young combined to shoot 28 of 49 (57%) from the field, while the rest of the Sixers shot 7 of 26 (27%). Lou Williams and Willie Green were the biggest culprits, shooting a combined 3 of 15. Ouch.

- The story of Game 2 of the Heat/Hawks series was the long ball. Miami hit 15 of 26 (58%) from three-point range, while the Hawks were just 6 of 20 (30%). Excluding Mike Bibby’s 4 of 8 effort, the rest of the Hawks shot just 2 of 12. After Atlanta blew out Miami in Game 1, it was looking like this would be a short series, but the Heat bounced back nicely, so it may go the distance.

- Dwyane Wade had 33 points, including six three-pointers. This year’s winner of the Three-Point Shootout, Daequan Cook, chipped in with 20 points off the bench; he made six of nine from long range.

- Chauncey Billups is by far the best player in the Nuggets/Hornets series. Through two games, he is averaging 33.5 points (on 60% shooting) and 6.0 assists per game. Moreover, he has made 12 of his 15 three pointers.

- The Hornets didn’t play badly offensively (46% from the field, 56% from 3PT), but they turned the ball over 15 times (vs. the Nuggets’ five TOs) and let Denver shoot 50% from the field and 56% from long range. After last season, it looked like New Orleans was destined to be the “next great thing” in the West, but the Hornets have struggled with their consistency all year long.

- In draft news, Davidson’s Stephen Curry has decided to forgo his final year and make himself eligible. We’re still waiting on word from UNC’s Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, which should come down today.