Dario Saric starts for injured Torrey Craig; Chris Paul out for Suns against Rockets

Phoenix Suns big Dario Saric will start in place of forward Torrey Craig on Friday night against the Houston Rockets, head coach Monty Williams told reporters pregame.

Williams added that Craig is out with a groin injury that he suffered in Wednesday’s 132-113 win over the Chicago Bulls at Footprint Center.

Craig joins Chris Paul (right heel soreness) and Cam Johnson (right meniscus tear) on the sidelines.

Paul is still considered day-to-day and will miss his 12th game in a row.

For the Suns, Jae Crowder remains away from the team as Phoenix searches for a trade partner to find the forward a new home.

Houston has ruled out forward Jae’Sean Tate (right ankle soreness). Away and on G League assignment for the game are rookie and Arizona high school product TyTy Washington, Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins.

Craig had filled in for Johnson in Phoenix’s starting lineup of late. In 21 games with 13 starts, he’s averaging 7.6 points and 5.0 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting, all of which would be career highs for a full season.

The absence of another wing could slide a number of players into bigger roles.

Ish Wainright, Josh Okogie and Damion Lee could see an uptick in minutes against the Rockets (5-16).

The Suns (15-6) are riding a six-game winning streak in the matchup at Footprint Center.

The Rockets have lost their last two, a duo of road games against the Denver Nuggets, but before that set had beaten the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder for their first winning streak of the season.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.

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