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LOS ANGELES - It was rather fitting that superstar Chris Paul recorded his 5,000th career assist Wednesday on a play that required more than merely making a pass.

He drove hard to his right, took a very Chris Paul-esqe step-back jumper, missed short, gathered his own rebound and found Blake Griffin waiting at the basket for a dunk and a foul. More fitting, perhaps, was that the perennial MVP candidate collected the historic assist against the New Orleans Hornets, his former team.

“It’s pretty cool, especially to do it here in front of our home crowd,” Paul said as he sat next to Griffin at the postgame dais. “I told him (Griffin), he got the 5,000th one and he made the free throw.”

Remarkably, despite missing 18 games in his second season because of injury and another 37 games in 2009-10 after sustaining ankle and knee injuries, Paul became the third youngest player to achieve the milestone, behind only Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. John Stockton, the league’s all-time assist leader, was 28 before he reached 5,000.

“He’s the third quickest to do it,” said Lamar Odom, who made a baseline jumper in the first quarter for assist No. 4,997. “Better than a passer, or scorer, or leader, he’s a competitor. He’s a gladiator, and he’s one of the best.”

After Griffin’s dunk, a message congratulating Paul flashed on the video board at Staples Center and the crowd awarded him with a standing ovation. Chants of “C-P-3” rang out for the next two possessions. At the first timeout of the third quarter, the team played a tribute video of some of his best assists as a member of the Clippers with the message: “This holiday season, it’s better to give than receive. Congratulations, CP3.”

Eric Patten, Clippers.com