This is the game story I filed for the North County Times web site, late Thursday.

Yes, it’s old, but I didn’t get around to it on Thursday, and I may want to go back and read it myself, someday.

Also, I actually wrote a separate entry on the game for this blog, early Thursday morning, but my wireless connection crashed before I could file, and I lost 95 percent of what I wrote, and I didn’t get around to starting over Thursday … blah blah blah. Yes, sounds like “a dog ate my homework.”

So, here it is.

Game 3 tonight. Should be interesting.

The Lakers may miss Derek Fisher — suspended for decking Luis Scola — more than we think. D-Fish has been quite shaky of late, and I think that may have played into the unnaturally violent move he made in the Scola play. Frustration, that is. Not only has his three-point shot deserted him (he’s 6-for-23 in the playoffs), he’s being trashed by Houston’s quick young point guard, Aaron Brooks.

Anyway, subtracting Fish wouldn’t seem to be a big deal, because if he can’t cover the other point guard or open up things for Kobe Bryant in the middle by sinking three-pointers …

But that means more minutes for Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar, and they are struggling as well. At his worst, Fisher is usually a solid, calming presence on the court. Brown and Farmar, however, could produce at levels far below that. Their potential for implosion is much higher than is D-Fish.

A key game. If the Lakers retake home court advantage tonight, they’re back in charge of the series. If they lose, then they’ve got a Must Win in Game 4. Unless they think coming back here down 3-1 for Game 5 is an acceptable path to take to winning the series.