HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets guard Fred VanVleet missed Wednesday night's game against the Utah Jazz with soreness in his knee and right ankle.
VanVleet played both games of Houston's back-to-back at Phoenix on Sunday and at the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
The 31-year-old veteran finished with 13 points and seven assists against the Suns. But VanVleet struggled in a loss to the Lakers, shooting 2 of 14 from the field and scoring seven points to go with nine assists.
“A little bit of knee soreness and some ankle as well in the ankle he injured,” coach Ime Udoka said Wednesday. “He felt it a little bit after the back-to-back. He might not have been his best in the LA game, but he tried to play through it.”
VanVleet has played in 57 games in his second season with the Rockets, averaging 14.3 points and 5.6 assists. He missed 16 games from Feb. 3-26 and March 3-10 with a right ankle strain.
“It’s going to take some time,” Udoka said. “We will have to deal with it the rest of the season, coming off the injury.”
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Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, right, fouls Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) rduring the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Goodwin (30) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Monday, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Scores of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.
The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.
The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main U.S.-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.
The withdrawal of fighters from the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.
Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.
After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.
Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters flash victory signs, as they withdraw from two neighbourhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters withdraw from two neighbourhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters withdraw from two neighbourhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People wave to the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters during their withdraw from two neighbourhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters stands on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters stands on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighbourhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
