Artest, Jackson chat

SALT LAKE CITY -- After small forward Ron Artest expressed some public frustration with Lakers coach Phil Jackson via Twitter on Thursday, the small forward and the Hall of Fame coach talked face to face and cleared the air. Jackson said today he was sympathetic. "I had been a little animated the day before at practice," Jackson explained, referring to Thursday's workout in El Segundo. "I think I kind of stirred the mix a little bit, so to speak. I could understand why he might have some difficulty." Jackson revealed that Artest was late to practice after attending a funeral early Thursday. It threw the day's schedule off track and Jackson acknowledged having to re-arrange things in order to accommodate Artest's unexcused tardiness.