In Phoenix’s 125-110 victory over Milwaukee Tuesday, Shaquille O’Neal tallied a season-high 35 points and looked like the Shaq of old.

The speedy Suns played by the script that was written when they acquired the veteran center from Miami last February. When they couldn’t successfully run up and down the court against teams, they could play a halfcourt game and feed Shaq in the post.

“They keep feeding me like that, those are the type of numbers that they can expect out of me,” said O’Neal.

That’s probably an exaggeration, as the 7-foot-1 center last recorded a 30-point game on March 9, 2007, when he was with Miami. Prior to that, he had gone a year between 30-point nights. Shaq scored 35 at Charlotte on March 6, 2006, marking the last time he had put 35 on the scoreboard before Tuesday’s effort. Over a full season, O’Neal hasn’t averaged more than 25 points per game since 2002-03, when he paired up with Kobe Bryant on the court and in personal squabbles off it.

Still, Shaq hasn’t figured as prominently in Phoenix’s offense as anticipated. A key reason is that Amare Stoudemire, who brings both size and speed to the Suns’ attack, remains the go-to guy in the frontcourt.

In recent seasons, injuries have been a drag on Shaq’s performance and numbers as well. Whatever the reasons, it’s clear that he isn’t as important to the Suns’ attack as he was in his previous NBA stops. His production dropped off markedly during his Miami years, but in his three-plus seasons there, Shaq still was a bigger part of the offense than he has been with Phoenix.

Shaq: 3+ Seasons with Miami vs. Phoenix Tenure

. . . . . . . . .G. . . . . .Min/G. . . . FGA/G. . . . . Pts/G. . . . . .A/G
Miami. . . . .205. . . . . 31.1. . . . . .13.2. . . . . . .19.6. . . . . . . 2.1
Phoenix. . . .47. . . . . 28.3. . . . . . 8.9. . . . . . . 13.2. . . . . . . 1.7

O’Neal has tallied more than 20 points just twice all season, collecting 29 in November victories over both the Heat and Kings. Shaq certainly would have motivation to build on his Tuesday success on Wednesday, when the Suns travel to Los Angeles to face his old team, the Lakers, but he will miss the game because of a death in the family.