LOS ANGELES — Among the 14 teammates JJ Redick had during his last season playing for the Clippers in 2016-17, just two were active NBA players as of the Lakers’ Monday home game against the San Antonio Spurs.

DeAndre Jordan, who has been a backup center for the Denver Nuggets for the last three seasons, with his most valuable skill being the veteran presence he offers for the locker room.

And Chris Paul, who has started all 67 games for the Spurs in his 20th NBA season, is the 11th player in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.

Redick, 40, and Paul, 39, were Clippers teammates from 2013-17, with Redick retiring four seasons after leaving the Clippers.

The Lakers coach said seeing a former teammate of his who is close in age playing for the opposite team didn’t ignite any feelings or thoughts about whether he’d still be able to play.

“No,” Reidick said. “I just told him, ‘You’re a psycho for still playing.’”

But as Redick has gone from retiring as a player in September 2021 to becoming a full-time broadcaster/podcaster to becoming the Lakers’ head coach last June, he and Paul have had conversations about what a post-playing career looks like.

“We’ve talked about it the last three years,” Redick said. “We had a long conversation about media stuff at one point. During the coaching process last spring, we had an hour-and-a-half conversation one night. It’s interesting because the fear for all of us, especially as we get toward the end, is that there’s nothing on the other side. And it’s not about how much money you made in your career and how much money you saved, what you can live off. It’s not about that.

“Highly competitive, highly driven, highly motivated people, there is a fear. And that is CP.  And the crazy thing is he can do anything he wants to do because of who he is, how he’s carried himself, the career he’s had, the reputation that he has and the person he is. And he still wants to play the game. And that says a lot about him.”

Redick added: “He’s a great dad and a great husband. And he’s still chasing the little orange ball around like we all did when we were kids. And to me, that’s like, love that.”

INJURY UPDATES

Forward Rui Hachimura, who missed his ninth consecutive game because of left patellar tendinopathy, has advanced to playing three-on-three as part of his return-to-play process, Redick said ahead of Monday’s game.

LeBron James, who has missed five games because of a strained left groin, on Sunday went through his first on-court workout since suffering the injury late in the March 8 road loss to the Boston Celtics.

Both of their statuses remain day-to-day.

Redick said it’s unlikely either will be able to participate in any “stay-ready games” against the team’s end-of-bench players and assistant/coaching associates before returning.

“I’d have to look at the next three weeks but very unlikely there’s a practice,” Redick said. “I think there’s a practice in April. It’s the reality, playing every other day. Even if we do do something on the court, there’s not going to be any live contact in between game days.

“So they’re just gonna have to ease their way back in. Some of us have had to do that. I had to do it a few times. It’s ideal to have a practice, but I just don’t think that’s realistic right now.”

ST. PAUL, Minn. — On a night when Darcy Kuemper was not quite as impenetrable as he has been of late, the Kings needed more out of their offense.

Mats Zuccarello scored the tiebreaking power-play goal with 4:38 left and the Minnesota Wild beat the Kings, 3-1, on Monday night, ending the Kings’ five-game winning streak and Kuemper’s shutout streak of 175-plus minutes.

Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist, Marcus Johansson (empty net) also scored, and Jared Spurgeon had two assists for Minnesota (38-25-5, 81 points), which had lost four of previous five games. Filip Gustavsson finished with 28 saves.

Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings (36-21-9, 81 points), who remained one point behind Edmonton for second place in Pacific Division with a game in hand on the Oilers. Darcy Kuemper – coming off shutouts in his previous two starts – had 19 saves.

Zuccarello got a pass from Matt Boldy in the left circle, settled the puck and fired it past Kuemper with Marco Rossi screening the goalie to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead. It was hist 100th goal since signing with the Wild in 2019.

Both teams relied on the power play to get on the board, and neither team needed much time with the man advantage.

Zuccarello’s 16th goal of the season came just 34 seconds after Trevor Moore was called for a tripping penalty. He scored from the left faceoff circle, beating Keumper on the short side.

Kempe put the Kings on top 4:59 into the opening period, just 17 seconds after Marco Rossi went to the box for slashing Fiala. On the power play, Fiala found a seam through the Wild’s penalty kill unit to feed an open Kempe for his team-best 28th goal of the season.

The power-play goal was just the fourth for the Kings in their last 11 games. However, the visitors, who had converted just three of their last 23 opportunities, squandered their next three power plays.

The Kings had a couple of opportunities to double their lead. Alex Laferriere had four chances in a nine-second span seven minutes after Kempe’s score. Gustavsson stopped three, and Jon Merrill swept the puck off the goal line on the other.

Warren Foegele thought he had scored in the first minute of the second period, but officials immediately waived it off ruling Brandt Clarke took Gustavsson out of the crease.

Hartman tied the score with 18:09 left in the second period, just four seconds after Kings defenseman Drew Doughty went off for cross-checking. Hartman won the ensuing faceoff with the puck going back to Spurgeon, whose point shot was deflected by Hartman in the air past Kuemper. That ended the goalie’s shutout streak at 176:06.

Gustavsson made a stellar save to snare Doughty’s one timer from center point through traffic 2:05 into the third period to keep the score tied at 1-1.

Johansson added an empty-netter with 56 seconds left to seal the win.

The Kings dropped to 25-7-4 when scoring first.

Minnesota has a firm grip on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference and pulled four points behind third-place Colorado in the Central Division.

The Wild were 2 for 3 on the power play after coming in 2 for 6 over the previous three games.

UP NEXT

The Kings play at Chicago on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. PT to finish a two-game trip.

ANAHEIM – Fullerton showed it can play long ball and little ball, and pitch pretty well, too, in a 3-2 nonleague baseball win Monday over Villa Park at Angel Stadium.

The afternoon game was part of the “Halo Classic At Angel Stadium” series of games at the Big A. The stadium has been the site of regular-season high school baseball games for several recent years, and has a long history of being a location for CIF Southern Section championship games.

Fullerton senior catcher Miguel Velasquez hit a solo home run in the first inning, junior right-handed starting pitcher Declan Fitzgerald went six innings and senior right fielder Wayne Warden bunted in a run for the Indians.

Fullerton, No. 13 in the Orange County rankings, is 6-2-1. No. 8 Villa Park is 6-3.

A light rain fell through the middle innings. The umpiring crew checked with stadium personnel to see if the game could continue, and it did. With Angels Opening Night less than three weeks away, it would be understandable if the game was halted to protect the field but it was decided to allow the game to proceed.

Velasquez, with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, launched the first pitch he saw over the left-field fence to put Fullerton on top 1-0.

He saw that Fullerton leadoff batter Zach Fany had flown out to left field on a fastball and was expecting the same pitch for himself from Villa Park starter Cade Cowle.

“I knew he was going to try to dominate and get ahead on the county,” Velasquez said. “I just tried to get the barrel of the bat on it and I was lucky enough that it went out.”

The Indians added two runs in the top of the fourth inning.

Velasquez walked to lead off the inning (he later would be intentionally walked twice), stole second base and on the steal advanced to third on a wild throw. Malachi Meni’s sharp single up the middle drove in Velasquez for a 2-0 lead. Meni went to second base on Christian Robinson’s base hit in the first base/second base hole, and Meni and Robinson advanced to third and second on Lazer Rojas’ sacrifice bunt for the inning’s first out.

Warden’s sacrifice bunt sent home Meni to make it 3-0.

Villa Park got its first run in the bottom of the fourth when Dominic Gutierrez singled and eventually scored on Shawn Romero’s ground out.

The Spartans scored their other run in the sixth inning. Gutierrez pulled a line drive into the right-field corner for a triple. He scored when Nate Lewis reached on an error.

Jake Nobles hit a two-out triple in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to score from there as Meni, having moved first base to pitcher, got the final two outs.

Fitzgerald, who committed to Arizona State, gave up three hits and one earned run, and struck out seven with no walks.

Villa Park coach Burt Call, who previously had coached baseball games at Angel Stadium, including a Villa Park regular-season game and a Mater Dei CIF-SS championship game victory and was a star player on the Capistrano Valley baseball team that won a CIF-SS championship game there in 1983, was impressed by Fullerton.

“That’s a very well-coached team,” Call said. “Their (pitcher-catcher) battery was really good. Those are top-tier guys.”

The Chosen Vron, the 2023 and 2024 California-bred Horse of the Year, has been retired from racing.

Trainer Eric Kruljac confirmed the news, first reported Monday by BloodHorse magazine.

A gelding ridden in his biggest victories by Hector Berrios, The Chosen Vron won 19 of 25 starts and $1.7 million in purses, all but one win coming at the stakes level. At age 6 last year, he won the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar for the second time, before finishing second in the Pat O’Brien on Aug. 24 in what turned out to be his final race.

Hopes of a Breeders’ Cup victory were dashed when The Chosen Vron was ordered withdrawn from the November event after a mandatory veterinary exam. Kruljac said at the time he didn’t think the physical problem was that severe, but the trainer soon said the horse had an ankle injury and would get time off. The plan then was for a return to racing later this year.

“His problems before the Breeders’ Cup worsened, and we decided to stop on him,” Kruljac said in a text.

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM MEDNICK, Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, saying it was striking dozens of Hamas targets in its heaviest assault in the territory since a ceasefire took effect in January. Palestinian officials reported at least 69 deaths.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

The surprise attack shattered a period of relative calm during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and raised the prospect of a full return to fighting in a 17-month war that has killed over 48,000 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.

In a statement, Hamas condemned what it called Israel’s “unprovoked escalation” and said it had put the fate of the hostages in jeopardy.

There was no immediate U.S. reaction. But over the weekend, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been leading mediation efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, warned that Hamas must release living hostages immediately “or pay a severe price.”

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation, said Israel was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks. The official accused Hamas of attempting to rebuild and plan new attacks. Hamas combatants and security forces quickly returned to the streets in recent weeks after the ceasefire went into effect.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the “gates of hell will open in Gaza” if the hostages aren’t released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said.

Explosions could be heard throughout Gaza, and at least 69 people were killed in the morning airstrikes, according to four hospitals that received the bodies. The territory’s civil defense agency said its crews were having a difficult time carrying out rescue efforts because various areas were being targeted simultaneously.

Talks on a second phase of the ceasefire had stalled

The strikes came two months after a ceasefire was reached to pause the war. Over six weeks, Hamas released roughly three dozen hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in a first phase of the ceasefire.

But since that ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward with a second phase aimed at releasing the nearly 60 remaining hostages and ending the war altogether.

Hamas has demanded an end to the war and full withdrawal of Israeli troops in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. Israel says it will not end the war until it destroys Hamas governing and military capabilities and frees all hostages.

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, and early this month cut off the entry of all food and aid deliveries into the besieged territory to put pressure on Hamas.

“This comes after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators,” Netanyahu’s office said early Tuesday.

Taher Nunu, a Hamas official, criticized the Israeli attacks. “The international community faces a moral test: either it allows the return of the crimes committed by the occupation army or it enforces a commitment to ending the aggression and war against innocent people in Gaza,” he said.

Gaza already was in a humanitarian crisis

The war erupted with Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a military offensive that killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population. The territory’s Health Ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says over half of the dead have been women and children.

The ceasefire had brought some relief to Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to resume to what remained of their homes.

But the territory is coping with vast destruction, with no immediate plans to rebuild. A resumption of the war threatens to reverse any progress made in recent weeks toward halting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.

A renewed Israeli ground offensive could also be especially deadly now that so many Palestinian civilians have returned home. Before the ceasefire, civilians were largely concentrated in tent camps meant to provide relative safety from the fighting.

The return to fighting could also worsen deep internal fissures inside Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages. Many of the hostages released by Hamas returned emaciated and malnourished and described harsh conditions in captivity, putting heavy pressure on the government to extend the ceasefire.

The released hostages have repeatedly implored the government to press ahead with the ceasefire to return all remaining hostages, and tens of thousands of Israelis have taken part in mass demonstrations in recent weeks calling for a ceasefire and return of all hostages.

Mass demonstrations are planned later Tuesday and Wednesday following Netanyahu’s announcement this week that he wants to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet. Critics have lambasted the move, saying it is an attempt by Netanyahu to divert blame for his government’s failures in the Oct. 7 attack and handling of the war.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.

Still, the deal has tenuously held without an outbreak of wide violence. The ceasefire’s first phase saw an exchange of some hostages held by Hamas in return for the freeing of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps in the ceasefire.

Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to follow the ceasefire deal reached by the two sides, which calls for negotiations to begin on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, in which the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP reporter Ghaith Alsayed in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.