"Terrence Williams was sweating hard when he finally had a chance to talk to reporters after shootaround this morning about his strained abdominal muscle.

His countenance was grim - which was a marked contrast from the happy go lucky mood he'd been in after practice Friday.

"Yeah,'' Williams said when someone pointed out the mood change. "Yesterday, I didn't test it. When you walk around, you're like, 'Oh, I feel fine.' But when you test it, like today, it shows you exactly where you're at. I couldn't play right now.''

Williams will miss his third straight game because of the injury, which he suffered in practice on Monday. Initially, he thought he'd play Tuesday, then for sure Wednesday. Now, he's hoping to play Monday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. But honestly, that seems like a long shot.

"I'll come in early (Sunday), before we go to the airport, to test it,'' Williams said. "But it's not something that I want to rush and hurt myself again, because 82 games is a marathon. It's not a sprint. I mean, it (killed) me not to play basketball. I haven't played basketball in -- really, it seems like forever. So I'm really trying to play a game, definitely.''"