Horry Hurting, but He’ll Return

Forward Robert Horry, who recently resumed practicing, is expected to be activated for tonight’s game at Houston after spending the first five games on the injured list suffering from a sore left knee.

The Lakers sidelined Horry to see if the pain in his knee would calm down after a week off, and Horry says it has, if only slightly.

“If you went on a scale [of pain] . . . if it was 100, probably now it’s like 65-70,” Horry said. “So the pain has gone away some, but it still hurts.

“I still can’t bend it all the way back that I normally can, but other than that, it feels pretty good.”

At the start of the season, Coach Phil Jackson said he thought Horry’s problem was possibly mental, that he was hesitating because of his uncertainty about the knee.

“It wasn’t messing with my head, it was just that I wasn’t able to do the things I wanted to do,” Horry said. “I’m just happy that I had it checked out fully so I know there’s not anything wrong. . . .

“It affects me most when I’m trying to hold somebody off. Or like when I’m trying to stop quick. I just have to slow down. That’s why I don’t run as fast as I can, because I know if I do, it’s going to take me a while to stop.”

The player most likely to be removed from the active list to make room for Horry is seldom-played guard Sam Jacobson.

*

After a strong exhibition season and a big season-opener against Utah, guard Derek Fisher has gone into a shooting tailspin, having made only eight of 37 shots in the Lakers’ next three games. He was one for 11 Sunday, followed by a five-for-14 effort in the victory over Dallas on Tuesday.

“He hurt his left [shooting] shoulder a little bit,” Jackson said before Tuesday’s game. “He doesn’t want to use that as an excuse, but I think there’s a hitch in his movement, a little bit of an element there that’s causing him not to shoot with the fluidity that he had. He was shooting very well in training camp, so I’m not worried about it.”

Jackson has played backup Tyronn Lue recently but says he wants Fisher to keep taking the shots when they are there.

“Within our offense, in the context of it, yeah, he’s got to take the shot,” Jackson said. “[If] he can’t shoot it or he doesn’t make it, then it’s my job to take him out of the game.”

TONIGHT

at Houston, 5 PST

Channel 9, TBS

* TV--Channel 9, TNT.

* Radio--KLAC 570.

* Records--Lakers 4-1, Rockets 0-4.

* Record vs. Rockets--(1999) 2-1.

* Update--Revamped and ready to run with the additions of rookie Steve Francis and veteran Shandon Anderson, the Rockets instead have misfired, culminating with Monday’s home defeat against Orlando. Anderson is averaging 5.8 points. The teams play again Friday at Staples Center.