O’Neal gets Suns soaring

Shaquille O’Neal doing what he does best [AFP]

Shaquille O’Neal had 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Steve Nash 19 points and 14 assists, helping the Phoenix Suns to a 94-87 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the USA’s National Basketball Association.

Phoenix outscored the Spurs 14-2 in the final 3:40 to improve to 4-6 since O’Neal joined the team.

O’Neal’s two blocked shots made him the third player in NBA history to have 26,000 points, 11,500 rebounds and 2,500 blocks, joining Kareem-Abdul Jabaar and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Manu Ginobili scored 22 points, but missed several down the stretch for the Spurs, who lost their second in a row after an 11-game winning streak.

Raptors 114, SuperSonics 106

At Toronto, Anthony Parker scored 23 points to lead six Raptors in double figures in Toronto’s victory over Seattle.

Rasho Nesterovic had 17 points, Andrea Bargnani added 16, Carlos Delfino scored 15, Kris Humphries added 12 and Jason Kapono chipped in with 10.

Chris Wilcox scored 28 points and Kevin Durant had 20 for slumping Seattle, which has lost eight of nine and was on pace to finish with the worst record in franchise history.

76ers 119, Bucks 97

At Milwaukee, Thaddeus Young scored 22 points, Samuel Dalembert added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Philadelphia coasted to victory.

Philadelphia already had a 14-point lead when it went on a 13-4 run, essentially locking up its season-best third straight road win while shutting down a high-scoring Milwaukee team that had managed at least 100 points in nine of the previous 10 games.

Charlie Villanueva had 25 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee, which lost for the fifth time in six games.

Pistons 116, Bulls 109

At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chauncey Billups matched a season high with 34 points, Richard Hamilton scored 23 and Detroit clinched its seventh straight playoff berth.

Tayshaun Prince added 21 points for the Pistons, who ended a five-game losing streak against Chicago and prevented the Bulls from sweeping the season series for the first time since 1995-96.

Ben Gordon led Chicago with 27 points and Luol Deng added 21.

Kings 114, Lakers 113

At Los Angeles, Sacramento’s Beno Udrih made two free throws with 4 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant missed an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer.

Udrih finished with 25 points for Sacramento, winning for just the second time in nine games, a stretch that included a defeat by the Lakers in Sacramento on Tuesday.

Kevin Martin added 21 points for the Kings, and Ron Artest had 17.

Bryant scored 26 as the Lakers lost only their second in 15 games.

Pau Gasol had 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, and Lamar Odom had 16 points and 10 rebounds.