Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul asserted control over the 62nd NBA All-Star Game early and maintained it late, scoring 20 points on 7 for 10 shooting, dishing 15 assists and grabbing four steals in just 27 minutes as the Western Conference All-Stars defeated their Eastern counterparts, 143-138, at the Toyota Center on Sunday night.

Nine of Paul's 20 points came in the fourth quarter, including two big 3-pointers in the final 3 1/2 minutes — one to stem an East run and put the West up by six, the other a body blow that pushed the lead to 11 inside two minutes. Between his late-game scoring and his early facilitating, with four first-quarter dimes, including a couple for huge alley-oop finishes by his regular L.A. running buddy Blake Griffin, the six-time All-Star showed the kind of overall command of the festivities to earn his first All-Star MVP honors, and the first All-Star MVP award in Clippers franchise history.

"Make it quick — I've got to get to Vegas," Paul joked as he entered the interview room, MVP trophy in hand, after the game. The 27-year-old point guard, who's averaging just under 17 points and 10 assists per game for the Pacific Division-leading Clippers, called winning the MVP "pretty special" and "something that I definitely, coming into the game, I wasn't trying to achieve, or thinking that it might even be possible."