Chris Paul's MVP show leads West in NBA All-Star Game

• Western Conference beat Eastern Conference 143-138 Sunday night in NBA All-Star Game
• Chris Paul had 20 points%2C 15 assists%2C four steals to win All-Star Game MVP
• Kevin Durant had 30 points for West%2C third consecutive All-Star Game in which he%27s reached 30

HOUSTON — Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul confessed.

He is a basketball junkie.

After the West defeated the East 143-138 in the NBA All-Star Game and Paul was named MVP Sunday, Paul explained his on-court growth this season.

"I watch basketball all day, every day. My son, my wife, we sit there — I'm on this thing called Synergy day in and day out watching basketball," Paul said.

Hard-core hoops fans had a huge smile the second Paul mentioned Synergy, the "high volume video-indexing statistical engine and online retrieval platform," according to the company's website.

On Synergy, users can extract just about any kind data they want — from which team is the most efficient after a timeout to which player is the best in pick-and-rolls — and then watch specific plays or entire games.

It is an excellent way to learn the intricacies of team.

"I was talking to Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich). I could pretty much tell him the entire offense because I watched so much basketball," Paul said. "I think as I get older, and I'm 27, as you get older you have to start playing with your mind more than all the athleticism. I'm far away from dunking on people. That's not my game. So I have to play with my mind."

Of Paul's 15 assists, four went to Clippers teammate Blake Griffin, including Paul's first two assists, and four went to Durant.

"I told KD early in the first quarter, I said, 'Man, if they score anything, you run. I'll get you the ball, you score, I want to be the one to give it to you,' " said Paul, the first Clipper to win the All-Star MVP award. "In games like this, it's so up‑tempo and fast-paced … a guy like me that's a facilitator I enjoy."

Paul added, "I like to throw the lob. I like to see guys hit threes, when we're out on the court with all that fire power, why wouldn't you want to make passes?"

The first three quarters went according to the perfected All-Star plan.

Give fans what they came for: electric Blake Griffin alley-oop slams, thunderous LeBron James' fastbreak dunks, smooth Kevin Durant three-pointers and dazzling Chris Paul assists.

They came to see Carmelo Anthony's scoring, Dwyane Wade's efficiency and Joakim Noah's effort. They appreciated the sustained excellence of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. They saw Kyrie Irving's official admission into the club called "The World's Best Basketball Players."

Then, in the fourth quarter — with about eight minutes left — the game turned competitive, because at the end the day, players want to win. It doesn't hurt that winners receive $50,000 compared to $25,000 for the losers.

Paul was named All-Star MVP for the first time in his career.

"Pretty special. Pretty special ... And it's something that I definitely coming into the game I wasn't trying to achieve or thinking that it might even be possible," he said.

The East had few answers Kevin Durant and the West's guards. Durant scored 30 points – the third consecutive All-Star Game that Durant scored at least 30 points.

Houston's hometown favorite James Harden had 15 points and six rebounds

Bryant took a page from his recent regular-season play – the role of facilitator with nine points and eight assists. He also blocked James' shot twice in the final 2:39 with the East trying to cut in the West's lead.

Tony Parker had 13 points and five assists and Russell Westbrook scored 14 points.

Anthony had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Wade had 21 points for the East.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his wife Shelly soaked up the excitement in a Toyota Center hallway. They gave Paul hugs. "So proud. So honored," Sterling told a few reporters.

The Clippers are now hoping for something bigger. When Heat coach Erik Spoelstra passed Clippers President Andy Roeser, Roeser told him he hopes to see Spoelstra in the playoffs -- meaning the NBA Finals.

And the Clippers will need Paul's best if that is to happen. Having one of the best seasons of his career, Paul is an MVP candidate. Los Angeles is 39-17 and in third place in the West, four games behind conference-leading San Antonio. Paul is averaging 16.7 points, 9.7 assists and 2.6 steals. Those aren't career numbers, but he is having a career year because his talent has flourished with talent around him, just as it did in 2007-08 when Paul's New Orleans Hornets reached the second round.

His dazzling skills were on display in the NBA's midseason showcase of talent. With just about two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the West led 136-128, a decent but not insurmountable lead. Head up and surveying the court, Paul dribbled the ball between his legs on six consecutive bounces, took a regular dribble and then went between the legs on two more consecutive dribbles before drilling a three over Noah.

It was beautiful basketball -- fundamentals and flair simultaneously.

"Typical Chris Paul," Roeser said. "Get everybody involved early. Make the game easy and take over at the end. That's Chris Paul time. I'm very happy for him. But anybody who knows CP3 knows that his appetite is greater than accolades in the midseason."