Deron Williams is hurt late, but appears to be no more than a cramp

Deron Williams gave his teammates, coach and fans a scare late in the game when he hurt himself and it appeared serious as he laid on his side on the bench, his left hip wrapped in ice with a serious Tim Walsh at his side.

Just as the of Markel Brown looked worse than it appeared two days ago, D-Will said it was essentially a cramp ... and that he hopes to play vs. the Mavericks on Monday.

Deron Williams said he's feeling better & hopes to play tomorrow vs Dallas. He said the issue with his left side was similar to a cramp.

— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) January 5, 2015

Nets appear to have avoided a serious injury to Deron Williams. Said he tweaked his back early and then suffered some kind of cramp late.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 5, 2015

Williams was told to treat the injury he was dealing with at the end of the game like a cramp, and thought he'd be able to play tomorrow.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 5, 2015

Deron said his injury was more like a cramp. Said his back/side locked up on him and he's hopeful he can play vs. #Mavs tomorrow. #Nets

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) January 5, 2015

In the locker room, Williams described what happened.

"I went up for that layup, and got fouled, and kind of forced my way up and felt a little tweak in my back, like my backside, and throughout the game it was kind of just annoying. And then Joe [Johnson], when he got that little steal right there, I went to grab real quick and it was more like a cramp.

"So the doc said to kind of just treat it more like cramps and doesn't see it being a problem. Just drink a lot of electrolytes and it should be all right."

No doubt, there will be a re-evaluation Monday.

• Deron Williams Injures Side, Hopes To Play Vs. Mavericks Monday - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Brooklyn Nets appear to avoid scare with Deron Williams - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Deron Williams hurt again - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Deron Williams Injured as Nets Fall to Heat - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
• Nets: Deron Williams injures rib cage area - Andy Vasquez - The Record