Freiburg were denied a potentially priceless victory at the Imtech Arena as Gojko Kacar was again the hero for Hamburg in their 1-1 draw.
The Bundesliga strugglers remain separated by just a point as Kacar punished Freiburg with a 90th-minute leveller.
Admir Mehmedi opened the scoring after 25 minutes when he latched onto Karim Guede's flicked header and fired across Rene Adler in the hosts' goal.
The likes of Felix Klaus and Nils Petersen had the best efforts to seal the points for Freiburg, who were on course to inflict a first defeat of Bruno Labbadia's latest reign.
However, having seen an earlier effort blocked inside the area, Kacar's persistence paid off.
The Serbia international - who scored the late winner in last week's 2-1 victory at Mainz - nodded home inside the area to ensure a point that edges Hamburg closer to safety.
Christian Streich's men move out of the bottom three on goal difference from Paderborn.
