Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (thumb) is out for Wednesday's game against the Denver Nuggets. VanVleet is dealing with a sprained left thumb that will cost him his first game of the season on the second night of a back-to-back for Houston, who fell to the Dallas Mavericks 121-115 on Tuesday. VanVleet matched a season-high 41 minutes in the defeat, so the Rockets will allow him to catch a breather against Denver. The 29-year-old All-Star is racking up 16.1 points and 3.0 threes in 37.6 ...