"In crunch time of the fourth quarter Wednesday night, Josh Smith grabbed only one rebound.

He made it count.

The Hawks clinched their third consecutive playoff berth in grand style, as Smith's putback dunk as time expired vanquished Orlando 86-84. It broke the Hawks' six-game losing streak to the Magic and prevented a four-game regular-season sweep.

With the scored tied at 84, the Hawks' Joe Johnson lofted a jumper from the left side that bounced high off the rim. From the opposite baseline, Smith roared to the basket, cramming the ball through the rim an instant before time expired.

"I just crashed it," Smith said. "Luckily, the ball was right there for me to tip in. I know that Joe's a good shooter, and I knew that it wasn't going to come out too far, and I was just able to be around the rim.""