Jordan, who holds grudges, definitely took it to heart.
As for Toni Kukoc, Pippen had already noted him in his little book.
He and Jordan had heard Jerry Krause talk about Kukoc countless times, wanting to bring him to the Bulls.
The most unbearable thing for Jordan and Pippen was losing the 1992 Finals, as Krause kept nagging, "If we had Kukoc, we could have handled Gan Guoyang! He wouldn't have gotten to the basket so easily..."
Anyway, the main reason for losing in '92 was the Bulls didn't sign Kukoc and instead gave the contract to Pippen.
Pippen wanted to retort, but his critical dunk miss in the Finals left him speechless.
The feeling was indescribably uncomfortable, like a fishbone stuck in the throat — no, like a ball (basketball) in the rectum.
Plus, Beelman kept fanning the flames, hoping to use this game to boost the whole team's spirit and cohesion.
The previous game against Angola was too easy, and post-game media weren't friendly to the Dream Team.
