It was a blast from the past. And with Grant Hill, that's always good news and bad news.

SLIDESHOW: View photos from the game

Hill scored 26 points Wednesday at Golden State and his 15 rebounds were the most he's had in a game since Christmas of 2002, when he had 15 against Detroit while playing for Orlando.

"I remember that game for all the wrong reasons," Hill said. "My ankle was really bothering me and they put me on a really effective (painkiller) and I felt great that day. Two days later, we were in Memphis - I played four minutes and I was done."

Hill played only three games the rest of the year and missed the entire 2003-04 season.

Wednesday also marked the first time he's scored at least 25 points with at least 15 rebounds since Dec. 3 of 1997, when he had 27 points and 16 rebounds for Detroit against Seattle.

"That was as good as I've seen him play this year," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. "The 15 rebounds might be strange because of the small ball (at times, Hill was the tallest player on the floor), but 26 points wasn't a stretch. He's playing at a high level now."

LUCKY NO. 13

The Suns have to add a 13th player to their roster by Feb. 22 - a day after the trade deadline. There are still indications the Suns are looking to make a minor trade to obtain perimeter defensive help, but they will also bring in four free agents for a workout on Tuesday.

The players coming to Phoenix are Linton Johnson, a 6-foot-8 forward with four years of NBA experience, including 54 games with New Orleans/Oklahoma City last season; Ronald Dupree, a 6-7 athletic swingman out of LSU, who played 19 games with the Detroit Pistons last year; Bobby Jones, a 6-7 guard who began the season with Denver and had two 10-day stints with Memphis earlier this season; and Carlos Powell, a 6-7 leaper from South Carolina, who is averaging 22.3 points and 6.3 rebounds with the Dakota Wizards of the NBADL.

FOOTLOOSE

While his wind and stamina are the main reasons why Shaquille O'Neal will wait until after the All-Star break to debut as a Sun, trainer Aaron Nelson has been working hard on increasing the flexibility in O'Neal's hips and ankles and said the first full week has yielded some significant strides with range of motion.

"Everything is looking better and we're pretty optimistic the differences will show up," Nelson said. "He's had a very good first week."

O'Neal had another extended session with trainers before Thursday's game but did not speak with the media and left immediately after the game for All-Star weekend in New Orleans. He will snap a run of 14 straight appearances in the All-Star game - tying the all-time record of Karl Malone.

O'Neal will make his Phoenix debut Wednesday against the Lakers.

BONUS SHOTS

Already without O'Neal, the Suns played without center Brian Skinner Thursday because of flu-like symptoms. It's the first game Skinner has missed this season, leaving Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw as the only two Suns to appear in all 53 games so far.

With Skinner out, Sean Marks saw his first meaningful action since Jan. 10 at Utah - when three Suns were out with injuries. Marks had one point and three rebounds in six minutes but also picked up three fouls and looked lost on defense. ...

Nash was named to the All-NBA first team in Sports Illustrated's midseason awards. He was joined on the squad by Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and LeBron James. ...

Dirk Nowitzki will replace Bryant and face off with Nash in the 3-point shootout Saturday during All-Star weekend. Nowitzki won the event in 2006 in Houston.