Vince Carter led Orlando with 20 points, while 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, while Smith scored 15.
Hawks sixth man Jamal Crawford will be heading to the playoffs for the first time in his decade-long career. He came into the night having played 666 games without making it to the postseason, the third-longest drought in NBA history.
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Brook Lopez had 26 points and 13 rebounds as New Jersey beat Sacramento to snap an eight-game losing streak and a franchise-record, 14-game skid at home.
Devin Harris added 24 points and nine assists for the Nets (8-63), who need to win once in their last 11 games to avoid breaking the league mark for fewest wins in a season (9-73), set by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73.
Nets interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe guided the team despite learning of the death of his mother, former Miss America Colleen Kay Hutchins, earlier in the day.
Beno Udrih had 19 points for the Kings, who lost the eighth time in 11 games.
At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Kevin Garnett had 20 as Boston clinched a playoff berth with a victory over Denver.
Boston led by 21 points twice in the third quarter before Denver cut the lead to 87-80 going into the fourth. But the Celtics stayed ahead by seven to 16 the rest of the way for their fifth win in six games. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 11 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points and J.R. Smith added 21 as the Nuggets lost their third straight.
At San Antonio, Kobe Bryant scored 24 points as Los Angeles extended its winning streak to seven games.
Lamar Odom added 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.
At Milwaukee, rookie Jrue Holiday had 15 points and seven assists as Philadelphia snapped Milwaukee's longest home winning streak in six years at eight games.
Instead, Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 10 rebounds; Willie Green scored 16 points and Andre Iguodala 14 as the Sixers poured it on for their third win in the last 16 games.
At New Orleans, LeBron James scored an efficient 38 points on 15-of-22 shooting to go with nine assists as Cleveland won its eighth straight game.
J.J. Hickson scored 20 for the Cavs, who led by as many as 17 and never trailed after James' 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.
Marcus Thornton scored 20 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Hornets. David West added 16 points.
At Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and James Harden added 23 points off the bench while returning from an injury as Oklahoma City beat Houston.
Luis Scola scored 25 and Trevor Ariza added 20 points for Houston, which fell seven games behind Oklahoma City and 5 - behind eighth-place Portland in the Western Conference.
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Stephen Jackson shook off a sore hand and busted out of his shooting slump with 37 points, leading Charlotte past Minnesota to send the reeling Timberwolves to their 14th straight loss.
Gerald Wallace added 23 points as the Bobcats shot 54 percent from the field and moved into sixth place in the Eastern Conference with their sixth straight home win.
At Toronto, Deron Williams had 18 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds to lead Utah over Toronto.
Carlos Boozer added 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Mehmet Okur and rookie Wesley Matthews had 16 points apiece for the Jazz, who won their third straight. Seven Jazz players finished with at least 12 points.
Chris Bosh celebrated his 26th birthday with a 20-point performance for the Raptors.
At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 31 points to help Indiana beat Washington and extend the Wizards' losing streak to a franchise record-tying 13 games.
Andray Blatche started for the Wizards a night after he was benched for most of the game following a spat with coach Flip Saunders. He finished with 21 points in 39 minutes.
The Wizards last lost 13 straight in 1995. They can set a record for futility Friday at Charlotte.
At Oakland, California, Stephen Curry had 30 points and 11 assists, and Reggie Williams scored 23 points as Golden State damaged Memphis' playoff hopes.
Monta Ellis added 21 points for the Warriors. Corey Maggette and Anthony Tolliver each had 12 points and Chris Hunter, making his sixth start, recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Rudy Gay had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley each added 21 points, and Zach Randolph finished with 16 points and five rebounds before leaving in the third quarter with a sore left ankle.
Smith dunk at buzzer leads Hawks past Magic 86-84
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Thu, 2010-03-25 18:08
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