Williams scored a career-high 29 points and was the man on the spot down the stretch as the Hawks rallied for a 102-97 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Williams was 5-for-15 from the field but sank 18 of 20 free throws, and Mike Bibby iced the game for the Hawks (29-20) with two free throws with 2.6 seconds to play.

That was after Josh Smith blocked Shannon Brown's driving layup on the other end and snagged an errant inbounds pass by Brown on the possession before with the Hawks clinging to a 100-97 lead and 13 seconds to play.

The Hawks won their second straight road game without Johnson, who was in Atlanta trying to recover from a viral infection that cost him a week of work.

Wednesday night they survived a late rally from the home team to upend the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-86 at Target Center.

They'll get a chance for a third in a row without Johnson tonight if he's still not ready to suit up against the Los Angeles Clippers at Philips Arena.

After trailing by 17 points early, the Hawks crawled back in the third quarter and led 78-77 to start the fourth.

They outscored the Bobcats 35-22, making up for their putrid start and finally playing with the sense of urgency.

* NEXT FOR Hawks: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. today (SPSO, 790 AM)

On ajc.com/sports: For behind-the-scenes news about the Hawks, check out beat writer Sekou Smith's blog.