The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire had 33 points and 15 rebounds and O’Neal stunned everyone, hitting 7 of 10 from the free-throw line in a 110-104 win over the New Jersey Nets that put the Suns into a first-place tie with Los Angeles Lakers with nine games left in the regular season. “This was very important,” said Stoudemire, who was 12 of 15 from the field… The Suns had a lot of big efforts from a lot of players on a night that Steve Nash struggled playing with a shoulder spasm. The All-Star point guard finished with 10 points and 11 assists. He was only 2 of 9 from the field, but both 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter… Leandro Barbosa added 21 points and Shaquille O’Neal had 17 points and seven rebounds as the Suns won their second game in two nights and their ninth in 11 games… Vince Carter had 30 points to lead the Nets, who lost for the second straight night to fall two games behind Atlanta in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
