102-97

Atlanta's 104-99 victory over Orlando narrowed the Magic's series lead to 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The loss was the first for Orlando in the playoffs after the Magic swept Detroit three straight in the first round and won the first three games from Atlanta.

Horace Grant had 29 points and 20 rebounds and Penny Hardaway also scored 29 for the Magic.

Orlando center Shaquille O'Neal, who hit just 5 of 17 free throws and missed four straight in crunch time, put the blame on his own shoulders.

"Tonight was my fault," said O'Neal, now hitting just 42 percent from the line in the playoffs. ``I don't make excuses for missing shots. I just missed them. I wasn't concentrating, but I will be concentrating Wednesday."

O'Neal virtually guaranteed the Magic would win Wednesday's Game 5 in Orlando.

"Winning at home makes it sweeter," he said. "I'll be ready to send all the crybabies home."

Atlanta's Christian Laettner, who scored 17 points and helped limit O'Neal to 19, isn't so sure about O'Neal's promise.

"We kept plugging along," Laettner said. "They turned it up a notch and we turned it up a notch. We'll do it again for the next game."

Smith, who hit seven 3-pointers, scored 23 of his points in the first half when Atlanta built a 67-47 lead. But Orlando came out flying in the third quarter and outscored the Hawks 30-9 in the first nine minutes to take a 77-76 lead.

"They're a good team and they made a good run, but the thing is to be able to withstand it," said Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens. "I thought that our players showed a lot of poise during that stretch because it's real easy to slide under. We wanted the game badly and I thought we played real well. The effort that was given by the team was tremendous."

Smith hit a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper as the Hawks started the fourth quarter with a 12-5 run to regain a 94-88 advantage.

A hook shot by O'Neal pulled Orlando within 98-97 with 1:31 remaining. After Grant Long hit a corner jumper for Atlanta, O'Neal missed a pair of free throws and Smith converted a jumper in the lane with 40 seconds left to give Atlanta a 102-97 advantage.

"A lot of people were writing us off and we weren't going to just lay down because they are a great team," said Smith. "It was definitely a gut check for us. We just have to keep doing what we're doing."

What the Hawks did a lot of was go to Smith, who was 12 of 31 from the field, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range.

"That's what we need out of Steve, he gave us great offense," said Atlanta's Mookie Blaylock, who had 14 points and 11 assists, including four 3-pointers of his own.

The Hawks came out firing in the first period, hitting 16 of 23 shots, including 7 of 10 from 3-point range, and set a club record for points in a quarter with 44. Smith scored 16 points in the quarter, including four 3-pointers, as the Hawks built a 44-29 lead.

Laettner scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter for Atlanta.

Atlanta led by as many as 22 points, 63-41, after a jumper by Grant Long with 2:56 left in the second quarter.

The Hawks held a 71-52 advantage with 10:32 left in the third quarter before the Magic went on a 25-5 run. Hardaway scored 11 points and Grant added seven in the spurt. O'Neal's layup with 3:16 left capped the run and gave Orlando a 77-76 lead.

The Magic outscored the Hawks 36-15 in the quarter and held an 83-82 advantage, but Smith hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and Atlanta led the rest of the way.

"They had nothing to lose, we just weren't up for the challenge," said Orlando's Grant, who hit 14 of 17 shots from the field. "But the great thing about this league is we can redeem ourselves."

"You got to tip your hat to the Hawks, it was a great game," said Hardaway.

Orlando starters Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott combined for just 13 points on 5 of 21 shooting from the field.

The Magic know they can do better.

"I think we'll close this out Wednesday night," said Grant. "It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, but we're veterans. We're going back home. We're going to take the attitude that we took in the first two games."

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