"Grant Hill wouldn't admit it. He didn't have to.

A day before the Suns faced Portland in Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series, reporters asked Hill if he might end up getting the defensive assignment on Trail Blazers guard Andre Miller, who had used his strength and craftiness to slice up the Suns en route to 31 points in a Game 1 Portland victory.

It is no secret that Hill has the versatility to defend big and small players and, despite being 37 years old, is the club's stopper.

"We'll see," Hill answered after hesitating. "You're going to throw me in the fire."

Sure enough, when Game 2 tipped off Hill was in the fire - and on fire.

He dogged Miller on the defensive end, limiting him to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting. And just for good measure, Hill hit his first 10 shots to finish with 20 points and eight rebounds as the Suns evened the series with a dominating 119-90 victory at US Airways Center.

"I wasn't even thinking about offense," Hill said. "I was really just focusing on defense and trying to be effective on that end. I came out and (assistant coach) Dan (Majerle) told me I was 10 for 11. I didn't even know that.""