Demba Ba scored a hat-trick to send Hoffenheim back to the top of the Bundesliga with a thrilling point a Stuttgart, but Sejad Salihovic wasted a glorious chance to nick all three by lifting an injury-time penalty over the bar.
Ba opened the scoring after 24 minutes only for Cacau to level to minutes later and Mario Gomez to put the hosts in front just after the half-hour mark.
Ba bagged his second a minute before the break and sealed his hat-trick in the 67th minute, just four minutes after Gomez and restored Stuttgart's lead.
The drama still was not over, though, and the visitors should have won it deep into time added on only for Salihovic to miss from the spot.
The draw moved Hoffenheim on to 40 points, ahead of previous leaders Hertha Berlin on goal difference. They will lose top spot, though, if Hamburg win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart are still three points off a European place.
Hoffenheim started far more brightly than they had last time out, when they were thumped 4-1 at home by Leverkusen, and grabbed the lead in the 24th minute.
Andreas Beck fed a throughball down the right channel to Ba, who turned and unleashed a fierce shot which Stuttgart keeper got a hand to but could not stop from going into the far left corner.
But the hosts replied just two minutes later, Gomez feeding Cacau, who dribbled into the area before poking the ball to the right of Hoffenheim keeper Daniel Haas.
The hosts then pulled ahead in the 31st minute. A corner reached Serdar Tasci on the right-hand side and his cross into the area was nodded home from four yards by Gomez.
But Hoffenheim leveled the match before half-time as Isaac Vorsah sent Ba racing clear and the striker kept his composure after a long run on goal to clip the ball into the right corner past Lehmann from 13 yards.
Gomez, though, was looking just as lively and he struck again to give Stuttgart the lead again after 63 minutes.
The Germany frontman was given far too much space after a high ball had been sent into the area and he sent a lob over Haas and just under the bar.
It was Gomez's 13th goal of the season and his sixth in the last four games.
Ba leveled the game again just four minutes later, the Senegal international fending off Tasci and beating Lehmann at his near post.
And Hoffenheim were handed the chance to win it when Ludovic Magnin brought down Carlos Eduardo in the area three minutes into stoppage time and the referee pointed to the spot.
But Salihovic could not take advantage as he sent his left-footed penalty over the bar and Hoffenheim had to make do with a point.
