EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — If Ron Artest criticized Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Twitter, he isn’t exactly owning up to his tweets.
Five disjointed, grammatically challenged messages appeared on Artest’s latest Twitter page late Thursday night, expressing frustration that Jackson had spoken to the media about Artest’s play before talking to the veteran forward personally.
But Artest wouldn’t say whether he had written the tweets when asked Friday before the Lakers departed for Utah, where they’ll play Game 3 of their second-round playoff series with the Jazz today.
“I’m never upset at my coach,” Artest claimed, before challenging reporters to quote the tweets precisely — and then refusing to talk about them altogether.
Artest’s brother, Daniel, later tweeted that Ron’s page had been hacked.
“I’m here to talk about basketball, basketball, all basketball,” Ron Artest said.
Artest has been in a 3-point shooting slump in the postseason, making just 7-of-42 shots.
“I guess he might be a little sensitive,” Jackson said with a grin. “I’ve been very upfront with him about his 3-point shooting.”
Arenas released from halfway house.
How long was Gilbert Arenas in a halfway house? Long enough to get locked out of his own driveway.
The Wizards guard arrived home, having completed the confinement portion of his punishment for bringing guns into the team’s locker room.
Arenas forgot his code, and after several failed attempts, he muttered “Alrighty,” got out of his car and called toward the house for help. A woman inside the gate yelled the code. Arenas punched it in and drove up his driveway.
The Associated Press
