"As expected, the veteran point guard was just too much for the opposition Sunday night at US Airways Center.

Andre Miller, that is.

Steve Nash played the otherworldly type of game we've grown to expect from a two-time NBA most valuable player, keeping the Phoenix Suns in the thick of things until the end.

Miller was just a little bit better, willing the Trail Blazers to their 105-100 victory that turned out to be the only upset of the eight opening first-round playoff games over the weekend.

Miller's numbers were extraordinary - 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 10 for 10 at the line, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes.

But the stat line doesn't tell the whole story.

Miller scored 23 of his points in the second half - 15 in the fourth quarter with the most important game of the season on the line. A 20-percent 3-point shooter during the regular season, Miller calmly lined-drived in a set shot from beyond the arc to push Portland ahead 88-87 with 4:30 remaining. With 2:40 left and the Blazers clinging to a 92-89 lead, Miller stepped in front of Amare Stoudemire to draw a charge.

It was Miller who tossed a baseball pass to a streaking Marcus Camby for what should have been an all but game-clinching dunk inside the final minute. Camby clunked it off the rim. Then it was Miller who, after Jerryd Bayless missed a pair of pressure-packed free throws with Portland ahead 103-100 and 12.5 seconds left, iced the verdict with a pair at the line with 3.7 seconds to go."