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The Hawks shed their frustrations and checked off a bunch of boxes in one emphatic swoop Monday night.

They defeated the Raptors to clinch a playoff berth, avenged an embarrassing loss to Toronto the previous night and posted the franchise's best road record in 13 seasons.

The Hawks thrashed the Raptors for a 109-87 victory at Air Canada Centre. Atlanta (35-26) qualified for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and has six games remaining to move up in the Eastern Conference standings.

“I'm glad we got that behind us,” Hawks guard Joe Johnson said. “Now we have got to keep fighting until the end of the season and try to position ourselves to get a good spot in the postseason. ...

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