Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference guard Chris Paul (3) of the Los Angeles Clippers is awarded the MVP trophy for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Paul scored 20 points, dished out 15 assists, and grabbed 5 steals to lead the Western Conference to a 143-138 win at Houston on Sunday evening. Paul was named MVP for his performance, joining Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas as the only three players in NBA All-Star game history to achieve 20 or more points and 15 assists in an All-Star game. Paul was particularly effective in his passing to teammate Blake Griffin, who scored 19 points on 9-11 shooting – all dunks.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 30 points, followed by Griffin’s 19, James Harden with 15, Tony Parker with 13, and Russell Westbrook tallying 14. Kobe Bryant scored 9 points, but was particularly tenacious on defense against LeBron James, perhaps due to comments made by Michael Jordan earlier in the week comparing the two. Bryant blocked a James shot late in the fourth quarter and two seemed to be jawing at each other all game long.

For the Eastern Conference, Carmelo Anthony poured in 26 points, Dwayne Wade 21, LeBron James 19 (though James only shot 7-18), and Kyrie Irving finishing with 15.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will now return to begin the season’s home stretch of 26 games, starting with a contest against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center Thursday evening.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference guard Chris Paul (3) of the Los Angeles Clippers and members of the Boys and Girls Club pose after winning All-Star Saturday Night at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Paul served as honorary captain for the Western Conference Saturday All-Stars competition, collecting $350,000.00 for charity as the West defeated the East for overall points 140-125. The East was awarded $150,000.00. Prize money was donated by State Farm.

The events consisted of the skills challenge, 3-point shooting contest, and the Slam Dunk competition. Clippers reserve point guard Eric Bledsoe competed in the Slam Dunk portion, helping his two co-dunkers, Jeremy Evans and Kenneth Faried, come from a sizable deficit in the second round to edge out the Toronto’s Terrence Ross, Indiana Pacers forward Gerald Green, and New York Knicks guard/forward James White. In the individual dunk off, Terrence Ross garnered 58% of the Twitter and text votes to win over Jeremy Evans. Both used props, with Ross leaping over a child and jamming home a between-the-legs windmill slam to bring the crowd to its feet after a relatively uneven series of attempts. White and Green missed all of their 2nd round attempts, for example, enabling the West to cruise to the team victory.

Earlier, Kyrie Irving announced his All-Star arrival in grand fashion by defeating Matt Bonner in the 3-point shooting contest. Irving is not known as a 3-point shooter, but surprised those in attendance with his dead aim and he came within two points of the record with 28. Bonner hit a respectable 25 to finish second.

Finally, the skills competition was dominated by the Eastern Conference triad of Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia 76ers), Brandon Knight (Detroit Pistons), and Jeff Teague (Atlanta Hawks). The Western Conference participants had the lead on the strength of Jeremy Lin (Houston Rockets) and Damian Lillard (Portland Trailblazers), but were undone by Tony Parkers surprisingly poor showing. Parker, who holds the record for lowest time to complete the obstacle course, missed all five of his three point tries and finished with the highest time at 48.7 seconds.