Dwight Howard has moved his feet about six inches behind the free-throw line over the last month or so. Howard had noticed that many of his free throw attempts were bouncing off the back of the rim.

The half-step back has resulted in some forward movement in precision.

Howard had been averaging 46.9 percent and has made 56 of 91 attempts (61.5 percent) over the 11 games before Tuesday.

"The success can't be measured by numbers right now," Howard said Tuesday. "The success is measured by consistency, and for the most part I've been consistent."

"I just think he's getting more comfortable and getting his confidence," Mike D'Antoni said before the game. "And he's hit some big ones. I think he's around 80 percent when they've fouled him on purpose or toward the end of the game, which is good."