RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Cliff Robinson prides himself on being a good player on both ends of the court. That's exactly what he was in the final 14 seconds Friday night.

Robinson hit the game-winning jumper and then blocked Grant Hill's last shot as Phoenix held off Detroit 98-97 Friday night.

"Cliff just made two huge plays for us with the shot and then coming up with the stop at the end," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "He got up on them and our guys helped him out."

Robinson finished with 20 points, Penny Hardaway had 15 points, a season-best 12 assists and eight rebounds, and reserve Rodney Rogers added 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Suns.

"We put ourselves in a position to win the game," Robinson said. "It was tough because they have guys who will step up and win the game like Grant and Jerry (Stackhouse)."

Detroit's Hill scored a game-high 28 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and Stackhouse added 19. But Hill and Stackhouse combined to make just 13 of 41 shots from the floor as Detroit lost its third straight at the Palace.

"We are waiting too long to start playing well every night," Stackhouse said. "Now we've screwed up big time. We went 4-1 on the West Coast, and had a chance to give ourselves a comfort zone, but we blew it."

The score was 93-93 when Rogers floated in a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put Phoenix ahead with 1:34 to go.

Lindsey Hunter hit two free throws for Detroit, and after the Suns' Randy Livingston missed a baseline runner, Stackhouse hit two from the line to put the Pistons up 97-96 with 27.6 seconds to play.

After a timeout, Robinson hit a turnaround jumper to put the Suns back in front. Robinson then swatted away Hill's attempt to win the game. Detroit's Jerome Williams grabbed the ball, but his desperation shot was blocked by Oliver Miller.

The Pistons designed the last play for Hill to drive on Miller, and got that matchup, but Hill was never able to get past the ex-Piston.

"That was the first option -- we wanted Grant to take the handoff and drive on Oliver after the switch," Pistons coach George Irvine said. "We thought Oliver would have a hard time guarding Grant, and that we would at least get a foul."

At one point, as the clock ran down, Hill flipped the ball to Stackhouse in the corner. But Stackhouse passed up an open jumper and returned the ball to Hill.

"I'm second-guessing myself, because I probably should have just taken the shot," he said. "But we were looking for something inside, and there was still time, so I threw it in to Grant. Then it just all fell apart."

Phoenix led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, and held a 51-44 edge at the break. Robinson led the way with 14 on 5-for-7 shooting.

The Pistons used a 9-2 run to get within 57-55 early in the third, but the Suns scored the next seven points -- with Hardaway getting five -- to move the margin back to nine.

The Pistons scored the final four points of the period, getting them within 72-66 with one quarter to go.

Hill scored eight points in the first three minutes of the fourth, and Stackhouse reeled off five straight points to give Detroit a 79-78 edge with seven minutes left. The last basket of the run was a 3-pointer that hit the rim, bounced twice off the top edge of the backboard, then dropped through the net.

Game notes
Detroit guard Michael Curry played briefly despite spraining his ankle in Wednesday's loss to Charlotte, and Hill stayed in the game after reaggravating a foot injury. Phoenix temporarily lost Robinson in the third after he twisted his ankle after coming down on Hill's foot. ... Kevin Johnson (sore hamstring) was not in uniform for Phoenix. ... Phoenix won 12 games in March, its highest one-month total since winning 12 in March 1997. ... Detroit has lost five of seven to the Suns, including both meetings this year. ... Williams and Stackhouse both picked up second-quarter technicals -- Williams for hanging on the rim and Stackhouse for arguing a foul call.