Phil Jasner of the Daily News reports that with yesterday's win in Orlando, the Sixers have finally secured a spot in the playoffs. They are guaranteed to be no lower than the 7th seed but could possibly rise to the 4th seed.

The Sixers went home, ecstatic with a 43-37 record and the knowledge that anyone with a significant injury could essentially rest during tonight's final home game against Chicago and Wednesday's finale in Indianapolis.

They had arrived in Florida with a far different feeling.

"There was no guarantee we were getting in the playoffs,'' Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "I looked at the schedule, and things [could have] fallen in a way that, if we didn't win, we were out of it. I was looking at a couple of bad-case scenarios. This is a monster win. We played as a team, that's the fun part. When you play as a team, it's incredible what you're capable of doing.''

Consider: The Sixers came to town without Allen Iverson, on the injured list recovering from a fractured metacarpal bone in his left hand; Derrick Coleman, resting his hyperextended left knee;and Aaron McKie, out after suffering a right corneal abrasion in Wednesday night's victory in Washington.

The result: They ended a six-game losing streak against the Magic, won for just the fifth time in 26 games in Orlando and avoided getting swept in this season's series after dropping the first three meetings.

Brown called this victory, the fourth in their last five on the road, "about as satisfying a win as I've ever had." Everyone in the locker room shared degrees of satisfaction. "I don't think anyone gave us a chance to win today, which makes it sweeter, more fun," Harpring said.

Playing with small combinations and more than matching the Magic's exceptional quickness and speed, Eric Snow said, "This really shows how we can beat them, and we have to continue to play that way if we play them in the playoffs. We beat them playing our pace."