Stewart scores career-high 31 points to lead short-handed Pistons past Bulls, 108-93

DETROIT (AP) — Isaiah Stewart scored a career-high 31 points to help the short-handed Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls 108-93 on Wednesday night.

Detroit won for the fourth time in five games despite playing without All-Star Cade Cunningham (wrist) and fellow starters Tobias Harris (hip) and Jalen Duren (ankle).

Stewart, who had his previous best of 26 points against Memphis on Nov. 3, scored 11 points in the first quarter. Two-way player Daniss Jenkins added six rebounds and a career-high 15 assists.

Ayo Dosunmu had 24 points for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 16 rebounds, and Matas Buzelis also had 20 points.

Chicago led 77-76 at the end of the third quarter, but Detroit scored the first seven points of the fourth to go up 83-77.

The Bulls were unable to get anything going offensively in the fourth quarter. They missed 12 of their first 16 shots, including eight of 10 3-pointers, and turned the ball over three times.

That, and a 14-4 edge on points in the paint, allowed Detroit to build a 101-87 lead with two minutes to play.

Bulls: Host Miami on Thursday night.

Pistons: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

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Detroit Pistons guard Marcus Sasser, center, drives against Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, left, and center Lachlan Olbrich during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed, left, shoots against Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart, left, shoots against Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, left, shoots against Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Syria's Defense Ministry announced a ceasefire on Friday after three days of clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo that displaced over 140,000 people.

There was no immediate response from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, while a local Kurdish council rejected calls for the evacuation of fighters.

The Defense Ministry statement said the ceasefire became effective at 3 a.m. in the three city neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid and gave armed groups six hours to leave the area.

It said departing militants would be allowed to carry their “personal light weapons” and would be provided with an escort to the country's northeast, which is controlled by the SDF.

Aleppo 's Governor Azzam al-Gharib toured the contested neighborhoods with an escort of security forces overnight.

However, in the hours after the announcement no fighters departed. Buses lined up to evacuate militants remained empty hours after the deadline.

Associated Press journalists at the scene said a burst of machine-gun fire targeted the location the buses had entered from, and an artillery shell landed on the road, but calm quickly returned.

A local council representing the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods issued a statement saying, “We will not accept the pressures imposed on us and the calls for surrender.”

“We do not trust the Damascus government to entrust our security to us, and we have decided to remain in our neighborhoods and defend them,” it said.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria, welcomed the ceasefire announcement and extended “profound gratitude to all parties — the Syrian government, the Syrian Democratic Forces, local authorities, and community leaders — for the restraint and goodwill that made this vital pause possible.”

Barrack's statement on X said the U.S. was working with the parties to extend the ceasefire beyond the six-hour deadline.

An estimated 142,000 people have been displaced by the fighting that broke out Tuesday with exchanges of shelling and drone strikes.

Each side has accused the other of starting the violence and of deliberately targeting civilian neighborhoods and infrastructure, including ambulance crews and hospitals.

Kurdish forces said at least 12 civilians were killed in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods, while government officials reported at least nine civilians were killed in the surrounding government-controlled areas in the fighting.

Dozens more on both sides have been wounded. It was not clear how many fighters were killed on each side.

Residents of the contested areas were hoping that the ceasefire would take hold Friday.

Ahmed Hajjar, a tailor in Achrafieh, said the ceasefire announcement was “a good step” but called for the removal of army checkpoints around the neighborhood.

“I can’t work now, the workers aren’t able to come, and I can’t send any products outside,” he said. "If I want to bring in textiles I get stuck at the checkpoint for an hour and a half or two or three hours.”

The clashes come amid an impasse in political negotiations between the central state and the SDF.

The leadership in Damascus under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa had signed a deal in March last year with the SDF, which controls much of the northeast, for it to merge with the Syrian army by the end of 2025. There have been disagreements on how it would happen.

Some of the factions that make up the new Syrian army, formed after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December 2024, were previously Turkey-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The SDF has for years been the main U.S. partner in Syria in fighting against the Islamic State group, but Turkey considers the SDF a terrorist organization because of its association with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. A peace process is now underway.

Despite the long-running U.S. support for the SDF, the Trump administration has also developed close ties with al-Sharaa’s government and has pushed the Kurds to implement the March deal.

Al-Sharaa spoke by phone Friday with Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party -- the dominant Kurdish party in neighboring Iraq -- both officials said in statements.

The KDP has friendly relations with Turkey and has historically been at odds with the SDF and other groups aligned with the PKK, but over the past year they have made steps to mend ties.

Members of Syrian government forces deploy on the streets as they take over the Achrafieh neighborhood from Kurdish fighters after three days of clashes in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian girl sweeps debris along a street lined with damaged buildings in the Achrafieh neighborhood after a ceasefire was announced following three days of clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Residents flee the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighbourhoods after clashes erupted Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Residents displaced from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Achrafieh neighborhoods take shelter inside a mosque in Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, after clashes erupted Tuesday between Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters in a contested area of Aleppo. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces take over the Achrafieh neighborhood from Kurdish fighters during ongoing clashes that erupted Tuesday in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, early Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Syrian government forces take over the Achrafieh neighborhood from Kurdish fighters during ongoing clashes that erupted Tuesday in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

Members of Syrian government forces deploy on the streets as they take over the Achrafieh neighborhood from Kurdish fighters during ongoing clashes that erupted Tuesday in a contested area of the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)