Shaquille O'Neal picked up 33 points and 13 rebounds to drive the Miami Heat to a 107-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
O'Neal shot 10-for-18 from the field and 13-for-18 from the foul line as the Timberwolves attempted to slow down the All-Star center in the second half by deliberately obstructing him.
The often-used strategy, labeled "Hack-a-Shaq", backfired however as O'Neal went 5-for-6 from the line after a series of fouls in the fourth quarter.
Miami's seventh straight victory lifted the team's record to 47-16. The Heat lead the Eastern Conference standings by eight games over the Detroit Pistons.
Dwyane Wade added 20 points as the Heat won their 11th successive home game. Eddie Jones contributed 15 points and Udonis Haslem chipped in with 11.
Kevin Garnett collected 22 points and 19 rebounds for the T-Wolves, whose three-game winning streak was snapped.
Troy Hudson notched 20 points for Minnesota, which led by eight points late in the third quarter but faded in the final 15 minutes.
Minnesota (31-31) slipped to 10th place in the Western Conference, one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot.
In the only other NBA game played on Thursday, Kobe Bryant scored 36 points and snared nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers edged past the Mavericks 100-95 in Dallas.
Lamar Odom added 15 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers (31-29), who trailed by four points after three quarters.
Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley returned to the Dallas line-up after missing games through injury but could not stop the Mavericks (39-21) losing for the fourth time in five outings.
Nowitzki had 25 points and 11 rebounds while Finley picked up 12 points. Alan Henderson had 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Mavericks.
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