Suns Turn Up Heat on O’Neal and Miami

The Phoenix Suns are making new believers every night. Add Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat to that list.

Amare Stoudemire scored 34 points and the Suns won their seventh in a row, and 18th in 19 games, 122-107, over the Heat on Tuesday night in what turned out to be a mismatch of the teams with the best records in the West and East.

All five Sun starters hit double figures -- in the first half -- and Phoenix improved its NBA-best record to 31-4, the sixth-best start for a team with four losses in league history. Four of the five ahead of them went on to win the NBA title.

“I don’t know that I’ve seen a quicker team in my 10 years in the league,” Miami Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “They’ve got great athletes at every position.”

Shawn Marion had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Steve Nash 16 points and 16 assists and Joe Johnson 24 points and nine rebounds for the Suns, who topped 120 points for the second game in a row and seventh time this season.

“Just right now it’s fitting all together,” Phoenix Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He [Nash] makes it look easy, and the other guys make it look easy. They play off each other. This is probably our best stretch we’ve had all year.”

O’Neal had 34 points and 11 rebounds, but the Heat -- beaten at Seattle on Sunday -- lost two in a row for only the second time this season.

Stoudemire relished his matchup with O’Neal, his boyhood idol.

“I did a little bit of everything,” Stoudemire said. “I tried to mix it up on him, and use my jumper. I figured he was going to back up a little bit and let me shoot, and when he came out, I took it to the rack and tried to get fouls or make plays.”

O’Neal has always liked Stoudemire.

“Tonight it was the old me versus the young me,” O’Neal said. “I wanted to make him shoot the jumper, and he shot it, and he shot it real well. He’s a great kid.”

Phoenix took a 17-point lead in the first quarter and never led by less than 10.