Stoudemire, Suns Overpower Kings, 116-98

Amare Stoudemire scored 22 of his 38 points during a spectacular third quarter and the Phoenix Suns moved to within a game of clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a 116-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Phoenix.

Stoudemire, combining thunderous, acrobatic dunks with outside jump shots, made nine of 10 shots in the quarter when the Suns opened a 27-point lead en route to their fourth win in a row. His only miss in the quarter was a three-point try at the buzzer.

It was the Suns’ 61st victory of the season, one shy of the franchise record. Phoenix leads San Antonio by two games for the NBA’s best record with two to play. One victory or a Spurs’ loss will ensure the Suns the best record in the league.

San Antonio 97, Memphis 75 -- The Spurs (59-21) won their 10th in a row at home and prevented the Grizzlies from clinching a Western Conference playoff berth.

Houston 115, Denver 87 -- With two games left before the playoffs, the Rockets (49-31) wrestled away control of sixth place in the West by winning at Houston and now hold a tiebreaker over the Nuggets (48-32) in case both teams finish with the same record.

Tracy McGrady scored 32 points, helping the Rockets win their fifth in a row while ending Denver’s 10-game winning streak.

New York 100, Charlotte 98 -- Stephon Marbury made a tiebreaking jump shot with 1.7 seconds left at Charlotte, N.C.

He dribbled off a screen, getting away from Brevin Knight, and made an 18-footer from the right wing. The Bobcats’ Malik Allen missed a 21-foot shot from the top of the key as time expired.

Chicago 114, Atlanta 105 -- Rookie Chris Duhon, who began the game averaging 5.7 points, made eight three-point baskets for a career-high 24 points to lead the Bulls at Atlanta. Duhon scored 15 points on five three-pointers in the third quarter to help the Bulls overcome a 19-point deficit.

Milwaukee 113, Orlando 103 -- The Magic, losers of seven in a row, were without guard Steve Francis (sore lower back) at Milwaukee. Buck guard Michael Redd sat out because of left Achilles’ tendinitis. He said he would probably not play Milwaukee’s final two games as well.