Josh Smith swooped in to slam through Joe Johnson’s missed shot just ahead of the buzzer and the Hawks finally beat the Orlando Magic, clinching a third straight trip to the playoffs with an 86-84 victory last night in Atlanta.
The Hawks bounced back from an early 15-2 deficit and overcame going 8:45 in the fourth quarter without a field goal against a division rival that had routed them three times this season. For Atlanta, it came down to the final shot for the fifth straight game.
After Vince Carter hit a long 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left to tie it at 84, the Hawks rushed down the court to set up Johnson for the potential winning shot. He drove the baseline and put up a one-hander, which bounced off the far side of the rim.
But the Magic failed to block out Smith, who soared through the air for a slam just before the red light went on. The officials checked the replay just to be sure — it showed Smith dunking it with 0.1 seconds remaining.
Carter led Orlando with 20 points, and Dwight Howard chipped in with another monster performance: 19 points and a season-high 24 rebounds. Johnson led six Atlanta players in double figures with 17 points, and Smith chipped in with 15.
Cavaliers 105, Hornets 92 — LeBron James scored an efficient 38 points on 15-of-22 shooting to go with nine assists, and visiting Cleveland won its eighth straight game.
J.J. Hickson scored 20 points for the Cavaliers, who led by as many as 17 and never trailed after James’s floater tied it at 10 in the first quarter. Delonte West added 15 points and Antawn Jamison had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Cleveland won its 27th straight over a team with a losing record.
Lakers 92, Spurs 83 — Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to seven games with a victory in San Antonio.
Lamar Odom scored 19 points and Ron Artest had 16, but it was Bryant who put the Spurs away for good. He scored 10 in the fourth quarter, including two backbreaking 3-pointers that San Antonio couldn’t shake off. Manu Ginobili scored 24 points and George Hill had 21, but the Spurs got little help from anyone else.
Thunder 122, Rockets 104 — Kevin Durant scored 25 points, James Harden added a spark with 23 points off the bench while returning from a hamstring injury, and host Oklahoma City ended a string of futility against Houston.
The Thunder got out to a sizzling start and opened a 23-point lead within the first 14 minutes. Their lead was never in jeopardy against a Houston team desperately needing a late charge to make the playoffs.
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