AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 26 -- Grant Hill has a broken left ankle and will be out for the remainder of the playoffs, the Detroit Pistons announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken early Wednesday revealed the fracture.
After hobbling through most of the first half, Hill sat out the last 20 minutes of Detroit's 84-82 loss to the Miami Heat Tuesday night in Game 2 of their best-of-five Eastern Conference series. Detroit has lost the opening two games of the series.
"I felt it pop at some point in the first half," Hill said at a news conference Wednesday. "I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know it was broken. We found out it was a break or a fracture."
Hill sat out the last two games of the regular season to rest what was diagnosed as a bruised ankle. He was clearly hampered by the injury in Saturday's playoff opener, a 95-85 loss.
Hill admitted he played against the recommendation of interim coach George Irvine.
"He advised me not to play before Game 1," said Hill, who will become a free agent July 1. "I tried to do the best I can. It was my decision to try and play."
Hill was limited to 13 points -- none in the fourth quarter -- in Saturday's playoff opener and was unable to defend Miami forward Jamal Mashburn, who drove by Hill with ease and scored 29 points.
On Tuesday, Hill scored only nine points in 21 minutes and again struggled on defense. He only played a few minutes in the third quarter before going to the bench for good.
"I said to coach,'If I look pretty bad, take me out,' and he did, so I must have been pretty bad," Hill said.
Michael Curry will replace Hill in the starting lineup. A solid defensive player, Curry was victimized on the winning shot by Mashburn, who drove left, spun into the lane and floated up a bank shot that gave Miami the lead with six seconds left.
"Obviously, we're in a hole and it got deeper losing Grant," Irvine said. "But no one should ever question this man's courage. He knew he was hurting, but he tried to help the team as best as he could."
Game 3 will be played Saturday in Detroit.
It is yet another bitter end to a season for Hill, who averaged a career-best 25.7 points, tied for third in the league with Vince Carter behind Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson. He has led the Pistons in scoring in all six of his seasons with the team but has been unable to lead them past the first round of the playoffs.
Although the sight of Hill hobbling off the court could be the last look at him in a Pistons uniform, Hill steered clear of any questions regarding his impending free agency.
"I'm not even thinking about that," Hill said. "I'm just trying to get myself healthy and figure out what to do next."