Portland Trail Blazers will have to make lineup changes as forward Evan Turner has been officially declared out for Game 3 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

As reported by Casey Holdahl, beat reporter for the Blazers:

Blazers head coach Terry Stotts might look to Maurice Harkless to replace the injured Turner. To recall, Turner suffered a bruised toe in Game 2. After the game, Stotts said, per Jason Quick of NBCSports:

“Evan is always positive and he said he will be ready to go,’’ Stotts said Wednesday in New Orleans. “We will see how it goes tomorrow. He was in no position to play last night (after suffering the injury).’’

Turner, a former second overall pick back in 2010, averaged 8.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in the regular season. He played in 79 games, starting in 40.

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The Blazers are down 0-2 against the Pelicans who stole two wins on the road. The next two games will be held in New Orleans where the Pelicans are looking to widen the series gap or maybe even go for the sweep.

Stotts recognizes the hole that his team is in. According to him, the next two games are must-win games:

“Well we’ve got to win two games in New Orleans, so hopefully it’s the next two,” said Stotts. “It’s easy math, we’ve got to go win two New Orleans and I feel we’re very capable of winning both games. Both games have been very tight, New Orleans has made the plays to win the games in the end, but that’s what makes a playoff series great.”