San Antonio

Pinnacle Entertainment has reached deals to acquire a 75.5 percent stake in the firm that owns Retama Park Racetrack near San Antonio. A statement issued by Las Vegas-based Pinnacle on Thursday says the series of transactions would secure the majority stake in Retama Partners Ltd. for $22.8 million. The firm owns the state racing license for the Class I pari-mutuel thoroughbred track in the San Antonio suburb of Selma. The purchase is subject to approvals by state regulators and Retama creditors.

Ramon Sessions did the best he could to keep Russell Westbrook from making a high-flying dunk that would energize the Oklahoma City Thunder. No matter. Even with his feet flat on the ground, Westbrook found a way to get the Thunder rolling past the Los Angeles Lakers and into the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. After Sessions committed a foul to stop him on the fast break, Westbrook flipped the ball up toward the rim and got it to go in for what would become a three-point play.

The Boston Globe's team of basketball reporters and editors offer their picks for who will win the NBA playoffs: GARY WASHBURN Eastern Conference Chicago over Miami - Bulls learn from experience gained last season; just too big and physical for Heat.Western Conference San Antonio over Oklahoma City - Spurs on a mission and match up well with Thunder. NBA Finals San Antonio over Chicago - It's one final title for this Spurs crew. BOB RYAN Eastern Conference Miami over Chicago - LeBron's finest hour.Western Conference San Antonio over Lakers - LA, because OKC's Harden won't be 100...

The former governor of a Mexican state bordering Texas accepted millions of dollars in bribes from drug cartels and invested the money in Texas real estate, federal prosecutors alleged in two forfeiture cases filed Tuesday. No criminal charges have been filed against Tomas Yarrington, who served as governor of Tamaulipas state from 1999 to 2004. But the civil actions allege that Yarrington "acquired millions of dollars in payments" while in public office from drug cartels "and from various extortion or bribery schemes.

A cortisone shot was seemingly all Ray Allen needed to return to the Celtics' starting lineup. Allen, who missed six straight games with a sore right ankle, said the shot gave him increased flexibility, allowing him to return for Wednesday night's game against the Spurs. And coach Doc Rivers quieted any potential controversy by inserting Allen back into the starting lineup, replacing the flourishing Avery Bradley. Allen finished with 5 points - including a key 3-pointer with 39.8 seconds left - 7 rebounds, and 2 assists in 35 minutes in the Celtics' 87-86 loss to San Antonio.

Jeremy Lin had 19 points and 13 assists and Carmelo Anthony scored 22, but the New York Knicks turned around this one with their reserves to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-103, last night at Madison Square Garden. "I think our second unit did an awesome job," Lin said. "I think we've been talking a lot about our depth and tonight we definitely got to see the depth, and so that's going to be a strength of ours and we need to continue to use that. " Steve Novak had 17 points off the bench as the Knicks turned a 17-point deficit into an easy win, outscoring...

Ramon Sessions did the best he could to keep Russell Westbrook from making a high-flying dunk that would energize the Oklahoma City Thunder. No matter. Even with his feet flat on the ground, Westbrook found a way to get the Thunder rolling past the Los Angeles Lakers and into the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. After Sessions committed a foul to stop him on the fast break, Westbrook flipped the ball up toward the rim and got it to go in for what would become a three-point play.

The former governor of a Mexican state bordering Texas accepted millions of dollars in bribes from drug cartels and invested the money in Texas real estate, federal prosecutors alleged in two forfeiture cases filed Tuesday. No criminal charges have been filed against Tomas Yarrington, who served as governor of Tamaulipas state from 1999 to 2004. But the civil actions allege that Yarrington "acquired millions of dollars in payments" while in public office from drug cartels "and from various extortion or bribery schemes.

SAN ANTONIO (87) Leonard 0-2 0-0 0, Duncan 4-12 2-4 10, Blair 4-6 1-2 9, Parker 5-14 0-0 10, Green 6-13 0-0 14, Jackson 2-9 4-4 8, Bonner 4-9 0-0 10, Ginobili 2-6 1-1 5, Splitter 4-6 0-0 8, Neal 5-9 0-0 13. Totals 36-86 8-11 87. BOSTON (86) Pierce 7-16 0-0 15, Bass 3-6 3-6 9, Garnett 7-19 2-2 16, Rondo 8-15 0-2 17, Allen 2-6 0-0 5, Bradley 9-16 1-1 19, Stiemsma 0-0 0-0 0, Pavlovic 2-3 0-2 5, Dooling 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 38-83 6-13 86. San Antonio 27 32 9 19—87 Boston 20 28 16 22—86 3-Point Goals—San Antonio 7-28 (Neal 3-6, Green 2-6, Bonner 2-7, Parker 0-2, Ginobili 0-3, Jackson...

Tony Parker scored 21 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-76 on Sunday night in a matchup of short-handed teams. DeJuan Blair added 19 points for the Spurs, who won for the seventh time in eight games and swept the season series with the 76ers despite being without Tim Duncan. With the Spurs playing three games in three nights, coach Gregg Popovich gave the 35-year-old Duncan his second day off this season. Philadelphia lost for the second time in its last four games as it played without Andre Iguodala, who was out due to left patella...

The Boston Globe's team of basketball reporters and editors offer their picks for who will win the NBA playoffs: GARY WASHBURN Eastern Conference Chicago over Miami - Bulls learn from experience gained last season; just too big and physical for Heat.Western Conference San Antonio over Oklahoma City - Spurs on a mission and match up well with Thunder. NBA Finals San Antonio over Chicago - It's one final title for this Spurs crew. BOB RYAN Eastern Conference Miami over Chicago - LeBron's finest hour.Western Conference San Antonio over Lakers - LA, because OKC's Harden won't be 100...

Pinnacle Entertainment has reached deals to acquire a 75.5 percent stake in the firm that owns Retama Park Racetrack near San Antonio. A statement issued by Las Vegas-based Pinnacle on Thursday says the series of transactions would secure the majority stake in Retama Partners Ltd. for $22.8 million. The firm owns the state racing license for the Class I pari-mutuel thoroughbred track in the San Antonio suburb of Selma. The purchase is subject to approvals by state regulators and Retama creditors.

J.J. Redick had six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points as the Magic held off Charlotte, 102-95, in Orlando Wednesday night, the Bobcats' 22d consecutive loss. Ryan Anderson added 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who snapped a three-game losing streak and secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference but lost forward Glen Davis to a sprained right ankle. His is the latest injury to strike the Magic's roster and drain an already shallow pool of Orlando big men following Dwight Howard's season-ending back surgery.

There's one day left in the NBA's truncated regular season, and only two of the eight first-round postseason matchups opening this weekend have all the particulars decided. Indiana has home-court over Orlando, and San Antonio has it against Utah. Just about everything else related to the playoff bracket — plus the scoring race and Charlotte's quest to avoid becoming the NBA's worst team ever — gets decided over the course of 13 games Thursday night. Anyone want to play the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat?

As this lockout-condensed NBA season winds down, with its rat-a-tat schedule and heightened sense of urgency, look who's sitting on top in the West. That Over-The-Hill Gang in San Antonio. No, it's not Kevin Durant and those young gunners from Oklahoma City. Nor Kobe Bryant and that perennial Lakers powerhouse. Not even the new power couple in Los Angeles, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Yep, the Spurs — who just keep chugging along no matter how much the hairlines recede (Manu Ginobili, meet George Costanza)

Manu Ginobili scored 20 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their seventh straight victory, 114-98 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. San Antonio (47-16) moved 1 ½ games ahead of Oklahoma City, which lost to the Lakers earlier Sunday, in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. A victory over Portland on Monday would secure the top spot in the West for the Spurs, who own the tiebreaker over the Thunder. Cleveland (21-42) lost for the fourth time in its last five games despite the Spurs giving Tim Duncan the night off. With the...

Tyson Chandler is back in the New York Knicks' starting lineup against Philadelphia after missing two games with a strained left hamstring. The Knicks badly missed their defensive anchor, yielding 118 points in San Antonio and 119 in Milwaukee in the two games without him. Chandler is averaging 11.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in his first season with the Knicks, who host the 76ers Sunday.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 103-92 victory over the struggling Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The Thunder took the lead for good midway through the first quarter and went on to their second consecutive victory and fourth in five games. Oklahoma City (46-17) remained in contention for the best record in the Western Conference. The Thunder are one-half game behind San Antonio and have three games remaining, including Tuesday against the visiting Kings.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all scored at least 20 points to help the Spurs rout the Los Angeles Lakers, 121-97, Friday night in San Antonio and spoil Kobe Bryant's return. Bryant had missed the previous seven games with a bruised left shin, and the Lakers went 5-2 without the NBA's scoring leader. But with only two games left in the regular season for Los Angeles (40-24), Bryant returned as he aims to get into a rhythm before the playoffs begin. Bryant wore a black sock over his lower left leg, with what appeared to be a shin guard...