Bodog Beat

Shaquille O'Neal wags his tongue at Dikembe Mutombo as he drops in two points. (AP Images)

Maybe Amare Stoudemire wanted to show all the kids struggling to hit free throws in the March Madness tournament how to do it at the line. Or maybe he just wanted to have something to hold over new teammate Shaquille O’Neal.

In any case, the Suns’ superstar was on fire at the charity stripe. He set a team record by going 20-for-20 from the line as he totaled 38 points in a 122-113 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night in the desert.

He also grabbed 13 rebounds and teamed with Shaq to dominate inside. O’Neal, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in perhaps his best game as a Sun.

The Suns covered the point spread, which was five, and moved within a game of the Lakers for first place in the Pacific Division.

Tracy McGrady had 30 points for the Rockets.

In other notable NBA action on Saturday:

New Orleans 113, Boston 106: The Hornets are legit. In recent weeks they’ve beaten the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets and now the Celtics. David West scored 37 points to lead New Orleans to a home win and a cover of the 1.5-point spread. Chris Paul added 19 despite playing only 29 minutes.

Atlanta 98, Orlando 90: Joe Johnson scored 34 points as the Hawks won their sixth straight game at home and upped their advantage over New Jersey to 1.5 games for the final playoff spot in the East. Atlanta was a 1.5-point underdog. Mike Bibby had 20 in the win.

Milwaukee 108, Cleveland 98: The Bucks pulled off the upset thanks to 27 points and 13 assists from Mo Williams. The Cavaliers were favored by five points but lost for the third time in four games against Milwaukee this season.

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