Josh Smith's putback of a Mike Bibby missed shot with seven-tenths of a second remaining ended a wild night at Philips Arena and gave the Hawks a 105-103 win, their seventh in a row.

The basket saved the Hawks from what could have been a vexing loss and their first at home this season. Leading 102-92 on a Jamal Crawford three-pointer with 2:07 remaining, the Hawks let Houston score 11 of the next 12 points to gain a 103-103 tie.

On the game-winner, guard Mike Bibby missed on a fadeaway jumper. Smith attacked the rim, leaping over Rockets forward Shane Battier for the putback dunk, causing an eruption among the 16,674 at Philips Arena.

"When a ball is in the area of Josh, he's going to go get it," Crawford said. "I think he jumps higher than 99.9 percent of the players in the NBA."

The Hawks moved to 11-2, matching the 1997-98 Hawks for the best 13-game start since the team moved to Atlanta in 1968. They are also 7-0 at home and have the best record in the NBA.

"It just feels good," said Smith, who played only 44 seconds in the fourth quarter at the end of an otherwise subpar night. "It feels good to get a win. As hard-fought as it was, it was worth it."

Through much of the night, the Rockets were quicker to loose balls and used the offensive glass in a way that the Hawks have been exploiting opponents.

In the third quarter, the Rockets shot only 28.6 percent, but the Hawks outscored them only 22-21 because Houston scrapped for 11 offensive rebounds, leading to 15 second-chance points. The Hawks had only six rebounds in the quarter and scored only two second-chance points.

"They've got guys that aren't great athletes, but offensive rebounds killed us all night," Smith said. "They played their butts off."

The Hawks went into the fourth quarter ahead 77-72 only to get outscored 12-2 to start the quarter. Trailing 88-86 with 6:13 to play, the Hawks ripped off a 13-2 run to give themselves a seemingly safe 99-90 lead with 2:56 to play.

Forward Marvin Williams, who had started to break out of a slump Wednesday, completely shed his funk Friday, torching the Rockets for 29 points.

Williams came out firing, putting up eight shots in the first quarter (making six). He scored on 3-pointers, on fast breaks and on cuts to the baskets. Most memorably, he crashed the basket from the left wing and rammed home a Joe Johnson miss with 3:11 remaining. It was the last of his 13 baskets (on 19 shots), a career high for field goals.

Coach Mike Woodson called his play "phenomenal. ... He was solid from beginning to end."

Hawks 105, Rockets 103

FG FT Reb

HOUSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Battier 31:49 2-8 0-0 0-0 1 0 5

Hayes 17:00 3-6 0-0 5-5 0 4 6

Scola 34:40 6-12 5-6 4-10 2 2 17

Brooks 31:48 7-16 0-0 2-4 2 0 15

Ariza 37:33 7-18 0-0 2-8 2 1 16

Budinger 14:56 2-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 6

Landry 31:00 6-14 6-6 5-8 1 3 18

Lowry 27:59 4-9 5-7 1-3 7 2 14

Andersen 13:15 2-6 2-2 1-3 2 5 6

Totals 240:00 39-92 18-21 20-42 18 18 103

Percentages: FG .424, FT .857.

3-Point Goals: 7-22, .318 (Budinger 2-3, Ariza 2-8, Lowry 1-1, Brooks 1-3, Battier 1-5, Andersen 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 13 (19 PTS).

Blocked Shots: 0.

Turnovers: 12 (Ariza 3, Scola 3, Landry 2, Lowry 2, Battier, Brooks).

Steals: 7 (Lowry 2, Scola 2, Ariza, Battier, Landry).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

ATLANTA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Williams 40:21 13-19 0-0 5-9 0 3 29

JosSmith 23:38 3-7 3-6 3-8 3 5 9

Horford 33:43 6-9 5-6 1-6 2 6 17

Bibby 36:46 3-9 0-0 0-3 2 1 7

Johnson 45:20 6-18 7-8 3-6 9 2 19

Crawford 31:17 7-13 3-4 0-2 2 0 21

Teague 7:16 0-0 0-0 0-1 2 1 0

Pachulia 14:12 0-1 1-2 3-4 0 3 1

J Smith 5:24 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2

Evans 2:03 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 240:00 39-78 19-26 15-39 21 22 105

Percentages: FG .500, FT .731.

3-Point Goals: 8-20, .400 (Crawford 4-9, Williams 3-5, Bibby 1-4, Johnson 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 12. Team Turnovers: 15 (20 PTS).

Blocked Shots: 11 (Jos.Smith 4, Pachulia 3, Horford 2, Crawford, J. Smith).

Turnovers: 15 (Johnson 4, Pachulia 3, Jos.Smith 3, Crawford 2, Bibby, Horford, Williams).

Steals: 6 (Crawford 3, Johnson 2, Bibby).

Technical Fouls: None.

Houston 26 25 21 31 --- 103

Atlanta 28 27 22 28 --- 105

A --- 16,674 (18,729). T --- 2:25.

Officials --- Dick Bavetta, Joe Forte, Derek Richardson.

Next for Hawks

Who: at Hornets

When: 8 p.m. today

TV; radio: FSSO; 790