"Hawks forward Josh Smith sat out the team's game against San Antonio on Tuesday night because of soreness in his right knee.

Smith suffered a sprain Feb. 28 at Denver after he had banged the knee earlier in the season. He said he has had nagging pain and weakness in the knee and isn't sure how long he will be out.

"We just want to try to get as much of the swelling out of it as we can and get it as strong as I can before the playoffs," Smith said.

With Smith out of the lineup, coach Larry Drew started Jason Collins at center and shifted Al Horford to Smith's usual power forward position.

The Hawks have four regular-season games left. They clinched the fifth seed Tuesday night, despite losing, with the loss by the 76ers. The Hawks can't catch the Magic for the fourth seed.

Drew said the decision to hold out Smith was made with the postseason in mind. The Hawks play their final regular-season game April 13 at Charlotte."