Hornets

Jameilen Jones scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half to lead BC High over Catholic Conference rival Catholic Memorial, 61-59, last night at McNeice Pavilion. After trailing, 35-24, at the half, the second-ranked Eagles rallied behind Jones and Charles Collins (12 points) to pick up a statement win over the third-ranked Knights. "We just persevered. " said Jones. "We've been working hard in practice and we had a lot of confidence. It was a rivalry game, so that just added a little bit more to the game, too. " Jones scored 14 of the Eagles' 21 points in the final frame, including...

The New Orleans Hornets will continue receiving a tax break that saves the NBA team $37 million over 10 years. The Senate sent the tax break bill to the governor's desk Monday with a 28-7 vote. The measure, supported by Gov. Bobby Jindal, is part of the state's deal to the keep the Hornets in Louisiana and a piece of the agreement with new team owner Tom Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints. The tax break ran into sharp criticism in the House, where lawmakers bristled at the idea of giving a multimillion dollar tax break while also weighing budget cuts to colleges and health...

Defending Division 2 Super Bowl champion Mansfield will open its season tonight some 300 miles from home, at Syracuse University's Carrier Dome against Christian Brothers Academy. "Last year we went to Rochester … we actually got into the Dome for about an hour to practice, and [the kids] were wide-eyed and pretty psyched," said coach Mike Redding. "I think this year when we announced in the spring that we were going to go there and actually play there was definitely a lot of excitement.

With the clock ticking down in double overtime Friday and North Reading in possession against North Andover, everybody in the 01864 Area Code could've predicted what would happen. Cody Carbone was going to get the ball. "That was no secret," said Hornets coach Chuck Campobasso. "Everyone in the world knows the ball is going to him in that position. But he still finds a way. " Carbone, North Reading's electric senior attackman who has 31 goals this season, was left alone against a short-stick defenseman - a mismatch Campobasso still can't comprehend.

Drew Gooden scored a season-high 22 points, LeBron James kicked in 15, and Damon Jones hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers hold off the Memphis Grizzlies, 97-94, last night in Cleveland. The Cavaliers, who have won six of seven, nearly blew a 20-point lead in the second half but made big shots and big plays down the stretch to improve the Eastern Conference's best record to 8-3. Jones, who finished with 21 points -- 11 in the fourth -- made two free throws with 15 seconds left and Donyell Marshall added a pair of foul shots with 6.7 seconds to go for the...

Stephon Marbury had 22 points and nine assists to help the New York Knicks end a three-game losing streak with an 86-79 victory over New Orleans last night, dropping the Hornets to 0-9 at home. After shooting 2 of 12 in the Knicks' loss Tuesday night in Memphis, Marbury started 1 for 6 but made five of his next 11 shots, including four 3-pointers. His last basket, a driving scoop shot with about two minutes to go, stopped a 6-0 Hornets run that trimmed New York's lead -- once as large as 24 -- to 10. Kurt Thomas scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Nazr Mohammed made his first...

In a relieved New Orleans locker room, Chris Paul and James Posey chatted about all the hard fouls, all the flying bodies that more than anything defined the Hornets' first win of this postseason. "This is the fun part of the playoffs, all the contact, all the flagrant fouls," Paul said. "You never want anyone to get hurt, but after it's all said and done, you smile about it because that's the nature of the sport. " Playing a grueling 46 minutes and shaking off a hard foul committed against him, Paul had 32 points and 12 assists, helping the Hornets hold on for a 95-93 victory over the...

Final: Hornets 97-78: This one was as bad as it reads. The Celtics had nothing in the fourth quarter after cutting the lead to 9 and were flat embarrassed by a team not picked to make the playoffs in the Western Conference. Jarrett Jack led the Hornets with 21 and Carl Landry added 20 and 11 rebounds. Ray Allen paced Boston with 15. Besides Allen and Rajon Rondo, the rest of the Celtics were 19 for 60 from the field. The Celtics are 0-3 for the first time in five years. Fourth quarter, 8:00, Hornets 81-67: The Celtics have little left to offer tonight.

New Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson will have one of the NBA’s top assistants on the bench with him next season. The Warriors hired Mike Malone as an assistant coach Tuesday. Malone was an assistant for New Orleans last season and previously the lead assistant in Cleveland under Mike Brown. Malone has built a reputation as a top defensive coach and was offered a position on Brown’s new staff with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Hornets improved substantially on defense last season, ranking fifth in points allowed at 94.04 per game, down from 102.7 a...

It was just basketball. Not a superhuman effort. Not a singular display of greatness. Just an observation of a weakness, and player taking advantage of a mismatch. Paul Pierce’s 20 first-half points in Boston’s 97-87 win over New Orleans came quick and quiet - annoying taps on the shoulder to the Hornets’ defense. An innocent caught-you sleeping layup to set the tone. A couple of Pierce-was-here drives, as the game see-sawed early on. A pair of get-back-and-stay-back threes in the second quarter, when the Celtics had taken a lead yet the Hornets threatened to cut into it. ...

The fourth-ranked Hingham boys' lacrosse team gave visiting Algonquin its first loss of the season when senior long-stick midfielder John Tocchio put home a rebound with two seconds left in overtime for a 13-12 victory Saturday. Giles Ober stopped 23 shots for the Tomahawks (11-1), but left a rebound that Tocchio recovered before he drilled a line drive from 6 feet away for the win. "Today is a good step in the process in playing a quality and well-coached team," said Hingham coach John Todd.

The Louisiana House reversed course Monday and agreed to give a 10-year, $37 million tax break to the New Orleans Hornets, part of the state's deal to keep the NBA team. The proposal by Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, extends an existing tax break that saves the team $3.7 million a year through Louisiana's Quality Jobs Program. Henry's bill would continue the rebate through the 2024 NBA season. Otherwise, the tax exemption expires in 2013. Henry's bill was sent to the Senate for debate with a 62-37 vote, a week after it failed in the House, getting only 49 votes.

Chase Budinger scored a season-high 27 points and Marcus Morris hit the go-ahead 3-pointer to lift the Houston Rockets to an 84-77 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday night in the season finale for both teams. The Hornets end the season in last place in the Southwest Division but finished strong, winning eight of their last 13 games. Houston finished one spot above New Orleans in the standings with a 34-32 record after a late-season collapse that cost the team a playoff spot.

The Louisiana House narrowly refused Wednesday to extend an existing tax break given to the New Orleans Hornets that saves the team $3.7 million a year. The extension proposed by Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, fell four votes short of passage in a 49-46 vote Wednesday. It needed 53 votes to win approval. The NBA team gets a tax break through the state Quality Jobs Program. Henry proposed continuing that for the length of the Hornets' new lease with the state, which is set to go through 2024.

Golden State's Chris Wright was called for goaltending on Marco Belinelli's layup with 1.5 seconds remaining, and the New Orleans Hornets beat the Warriors 83-81 Tuesday night. Greivis Vazquez blocked Charles Jenkins' layup to start a fast break in the final seconds. He pushed the ball ahead to a wide-open Belinelli, whose layup touched the backboard and was on its way down before Wright hustled over for the illegal swat. In an odd scene, many Warriors fans were actually cheering for the Hornets.

Braintree avenged last season's loss to Norwood Tuesday afternoon as the Lady Wamps' bats came alive to defeat the Mustangs, 5-3, in a Bay State Carey Division softball matchup at Braintree. Norwood scored in the first inning. Erin Garczynski was hit by a pitch leading off, and came home on a triple by Melissa Chisolm. The Wamps scored three runs in the first. Amy McKinney and Marissa Quinn walked and Katie Casey launched a two-run double to center. Speedy junior Brooke Ellis ran for Casey and advanced to third on Kelsey Dillon's single.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 15 rebounds and Rashard Lewis scored 19 points to lift the Orlando Magic to a second straight impressive victory, 95-88 over the Hornets last night in New Orleans. Coming one night after Orlando handed the Celtics their first loss of the season, the Magic's fifth straight victory snapped the Hornets' five-game winning streak. Jameer Nelson scored 16 points for Orlando, hitting on a crucial driving layup and a jumper in the final minutes. Keyon Dooling and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 15 for Orlando, with Turkoglu hitting two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

The unbeaten Hornets won their eighth in a row, with David West and Marco Belinelli each scoring 18 points last night in a 107-87 decision over the Portland Trail Blazers in New Orleans. The Hornets, the only undefeated team in the league, led from start to finish. They have held every one of their opponents below 100 points. Portland cut a 17-point deficit to 75-70 early in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans responded with a 16-5 run to put the game away. Spurs 116, Sixers 93 — Tony Parker scored 24 points and capped a big surge in the first quarter that sent...

Chris Paul had 33 points and 13 assists, Randy Foye hit three of his six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a 107-98 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night to move within a half-game of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Foye scored 24 points, and Blake Griffin had 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Clippers' 40th victory — their most since the 2006-07 team won that many. Paul made 17 of 19 free throws, while Griffin hit 7 of 9. Eric Gordon scored 17 points and Al-Farouq...

Eric Gordon scored 27 points, Carl Landry had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets dealt a blow to Houston's playoff hopes with a 105-99 overtime victory Thursday night, the Rockets' sixth straight loss. Goran Dragic scored 23 points and Chase Budinger tied a season-high with 22 points for Houston (32-31), which dropped one game behind Utah (33-30) for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with three games left. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 17 points, Marco Belinelli had 13 points, and Gustavo Ayon had nine points and 10...