The Charlotte Bobcats lost their 16th straight at home and their eighth overall against the Altlanta Hawks, falling 104-92 Wednesday at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The Bobcats are three home losses away from tying the NBA record, set by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1990s. Josh Smith led the Hawks with 30 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. The Bobcats got a season-high 27 points from Ramon Sessions.

The Hawks expanded a seven-point halftime lead to as much as 17 in the third quarter before the Bobcats (10-32) cut the deficit back to 12 entering the final quarter. Sessions was the only effective scorer for Charlotte, with nine third-quarter points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

Smith reached 24 points after three quarters, excelling in the third quarter with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

After scoring a career-high 35 points Monday in a loss to the Houston Rockets, Kemba Walker made just three of his first 10 shots Wednesday.

The Bobcats had a slow start – it’s been a regular problem of late – to trail 28-18 late in the first quarter on Kyle Korver’s 3-pointer. But the Bobcats quickly got their act back together, trimming that deficit to five in the second quarter’s first four minutes.

Charlotte got a nice boost from rookie Jeff Taylor, who scored seven first-half points off 3-of-4 shooting. Taylor might be the Bobcats’ best leaper and he dunked through an alley-oop, off a lob pass from Kemba Walker, to get the home crowd into the game.

The Hawks entered this game with serious injury problems. Atlanta’s top two big men, Al Horford (leg injury) and Zaza Pachulia (sore right Achilles tendon) both sat out the game, as did Charlottean Anthony Morrow. Morrow has been out for a while with a sore lower back.

That made for a makeshift starting lineup with Ivan Johnson at center and DeShawn Stevenson at small forward. Stevenson was questionable for this game with a sore knee.

But the Bobcats had typical problems containing Atlanta’s Smith, who had 16 points and five rebounds at halftime (along with five turnovers).

The Bobcats host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Time Warner Cable Arena Saturday night before heading out on a five-game road trip. The Bobcats don’t play in Charlotte again until hosting the Los Angeles Lakers Feb. 8.