NEW ORLEANS - The Portland Trail Blazers are making another injury-related lineup swap for Game 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
Starting swingman Evan Turner will return after he missed Game 3 with a toe injury. Coach Terry Stotts said there will be "no limitations" on Turner, although they will have to monitor his pain tolerance.
However, the Blazers will be without backup forward Maurice Harkless -- who replaced Turner in the starting lineup in Game 3.
Harkless irritated the knee injury that forced him to miss 10 straight games, including Game 1 of this playoff series.
"There's nothing structural," Stotts said. "I don't know if it was just pain or swelling. But he was not able to finish the game [Thursday night], and he's not able to play [Saturday night]."
Harkless had 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting and five rebounds off the bench in Game 2. But he was 2-of-8 on Thursday night, scoring 5 points with two rebounds and four assists.
Harkless started 37 games in the regular season and averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Stotts said the motivational message to his team was obvious as they head into a potential elimination game Saturday, down 3-0 to the red-hot Pelicans.
"We have to be a desperate team. Because if we aren't, there's no tomorrow," Stotts said.
Blazers all-star Damian Lillard said Friday that Portland needs to start matching New Orleans' physicality and aggressiveness, "even if that means some foul trouble or some altercations happen out there or whatever."
But Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said before Saturday's game that his team won't change its approach in response.
"Whatever [the Blazers] want to do or how they want to play, that's fine," Gentry said. "[But] we're not gonna get into any situations where the physicality is gonna change the game for us."
