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Cherry Picking recaps Wednesday's NBA playoff action.

The Nuggets led the Mavericks by as many as 17 points late in the third quarter, but midway through the fourth the Mavs started to make a run, cutting the deficit all the way down to six. A would-be blowout was suddenly a two-possession game; was this where the Nuggets would fall apart?

Not quite. With the ball in his hands and just two seconds left on the shot clock, Carmelo Anthony nailed a 25-footer that left the Mavericks so disgusted that Antoine Wright drew a tech foul, putting Chauncey Billups on the free throw line to push Denver's lead safely back to double-digits once and for all. From there, Denver cruised to a 124-110 series-clinching victory.

"Yeah, that was a spark," Anthony said after the game. "If I told you I knew it was going in, I'd be lying to you. That was a lucky shot. It went in. I think that shot right there sparked the momentum for us."

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Chauncey Billups is still in his prime as a player, but that doesn't mean that he's not already thinking about his "dream job" after hanging up his sneakers. What might that be? Taking Mark Warkentien's job as general manager. From Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post:

"I think it's a tough challenge (working) behind the scenes," said Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP for the Pistons. "You get to orchestrate, make moves and try to build a champion, and I think I know what it takes. . . . You've got to be a personable guy; you've got to be able to incorporate relationships."

This isn't some passing interest, either; Hochman reports that Suns coach Terry Porter, who coached Billups as an assistant in Detroit last year, revealed that Billups and Joe Dumars "had quite a few talks" about Billups someday joining the front office. George Karl agreed that Billups has the right makeup to someday be a good front office exec, but added a disclaimer.