Charlotte —- Depending on how the Hawks finish this season, Wednesday's 100-98 overtime loss to Charlotte could be seen as either an innocuous blip on the radar of yet another losing campaign or the fatal blow to the Hawks' faint playoff hopes.

Only time will tell.

But in the short term, the Hawks needed a win more than anything.

Facing an opponent that hadn't won a game this month, the Hawks lost a 14-point lead and limped into the All-Star break with a four-game losing streak and serious questions about their immediate future after what was easily their worst loss of the season.

"I'm speechless," Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said. "Speechless."

Jeff McInnis provided the final margin in overtime, a layup that bounced on the side of the rim with 51.4 seconds to play.

Johnson's game-tying attempt with 2.3 seconds to play came up short, as his pull-up runner bounced off the front of the rim. The Bobcats snagged the rebound and tossed the ball upcourt as the clock expired.

"We gave them momentum and we gave them life in the fourth quarter, and they took advantage of it," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Our guys are somewhat clock watching. They get leads and teams start to make runs, and we start to look at the clock and hope that the clock runs out —- and that's not good."

The Bobcats almost sealed the victory in regulation play.

Raymond Felton's desperation heave at the regulation buzzer bounced high off the backboard, forcing these teams to play five extra minutes in a game few people came to see —- the crowd at Bobcats Arena was generously announced at 11,213.

The Hawks (21-28) weren't able to solve the Bobcats' zone in the fourth quarter or those extra five minutes.

Johnson and Tyronn Lue were the only Hawks to make shots from beyond the 3-point line. Johnson made all three of his, and Lue, who finished with 19 points but missed two crucial free throws in the final 90 seconds of regulation, went 3-for-4 from deep. Without anyone else to help spread the floor, the Hawks couldn't expand their lead when the Bobcats started their rally.

"We can't spread the floor, and we can't run high pick-and-rolls against a zone," said Johnson, who finished with 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting. "We can't try and attack because they are sitting in the middle. They want us to shoot those shots. And it kills us every time."

Marvin Williams made three of his 15 shots, Anthony Johnson just two of his eight, and Josh Smith played 16 minutes before fouling out, scoring four points.

Acie Law IV made six of his eight shots off the bench, finishing with 13 points. But the Hawks played without Josh Childress, their leading scorer off the bench, who was home in Atlanta nursing a sore knee.

"We were playing well and then we hit a snag," Anthony Johnson said. "And we just didn't make any plays on the backside. And I'm responsible for that. I couldn't get anything going shooting the ball, and it's unfortunate that it came at a time like this. It's even more unfortunate to let an early effort like we gave get away like this."

NEXT FOR HAWKS

> Who: at Lakers

> When: 10:30 p.m. Tuesday

> TV; radio: SportSouth; 790 AM.