ATLANTA - Joe Johnson provided his usual offensive spark. His biggest play, though, was getting a hand on a missed shot.
Johnson scored 23 points and came up with a huge offensive rebound, leading the Atlanta Hawks to an 84-81 victory in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series and ending the Orlando Magic's season Thursday night.
The Hawks, who won the series 4-2, advanced to the second round for the third straight year, this time against Eastern Conference top seed Chicago.
The Magic, who routed Atlanta a year ago in the most lopsided four-game sweep in NBA history, head into an uncertain offseason after their earliest playoff ouster since 2007.
With Atlanta clinging to a one-point lead and the clock running down, Marvin Williams missed a clinching 3-pointer. But Johnson swatted the rebound to Jamal Crawford, who was fouled and made both free throws with 8.2 seconds left.
The Magic had two chances to force overtime. J.J. Redick missed an open 3, and then Jason Richardson had a desperation shot from the corner blocked by Josh Smith.
Redick came off a screen for a clear view of the basket, a play that couldn't have been drawn up any better. The shot rimmed out, but it went out of bounds off an Atlanta player to provide the Magic with one more shot. After his team called another timeout, Redick walked to the bench with his hands on his head.
That would be the Magic's last chance to extend the series. They inbounded from the baseline to Richardson, but he didn't have much room to work in the corner. Smith extended a hand to finish off Orlando.
Hedo Turkoglu kicked the ball off the scoreboard hanging above the court in frustration as streamers fell from the ceiling, the sellout crowd celebrating their series winner.
After not having much of an impact in Orlando's 25-point win in Game 5, Dwight Howard led the Magic with 25 points and 15 rebounds. But, falling into a familiar pattern from the first two games, the big center didn't get much help from his teammates.
Crawford scored 19 points, including consecutive 3s that gave Atlanta its biggest lead, 71-59, with just over nine minutes left. The Magic fought back with an 8-0 spurt, and Ryan Anderson had a chance to give them their first lead since the opening minutes with an open shot from outside the stripe.
He missed, and the Magic never caught up with Atlanta after playing from behind nearly the entire game. Williams gave Atlanta's struggling offense a boost with 10 points, hitting a couple of big 3s.
Kirk Hinrich scored on a drive with just over three minutes to go, somehow getting the shot over Howard. But the Atlanta guard went up so high, he came down awkwardly on his right knee. He struggled back down the court but collapsed after Gilbert Arenas was clobbered on a drive to the basket.
Hinrich was carried to the locker room, his arms draped around two Atlanta trainers so he didn't put any pressure on the knee.
The Hawks were up 42-36 at halftime, but the lead should have been a lot bigger. Smith was 3-of-12 shooting with three turnovers. Crawford hit only 3 of 11 shots, Johnson just 4 of 12.
But Atlanta turned up its defensive pressure at the arc, holding the Magic to just 5-of-19 from long range.
Things got rough in the third quarter, the desperation apparent for both teams. Orlando was trying to keep its season going. The Hawks had no desire to return to Florida for a decisive Game 7.
Turkoglu was whistled for a flagrant foul when he wrapped up Zaza Pachulia before he could get off a shot under the hoop. On the ensuing possession, Howard had the ball in close and was hacked by Pachulia, who received a flagrant violation as well.
The Hawks won seven out of 10 games against the Magic this season.