Was Michael Jordan taunting the Los Angeles Lakers' during Game 2 of the NBA Finals? Byron Scott says so, but Michael says no.
"We noticed Michael taunting our bench," Scott, a starting guard for the Lakers, said after the Bulls beat Los Angeles 107-86 Wednesday night in Chicago to even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece. "That's not something you do early in the series."It got us upset and we'll be ready at home."
The teams play the next three games of the series at the Forum, with Game 3 scheduled Friday night.
The Lakers cancelled practice Thursday, so Scott and his teammates weren't available to expand on the comments Scott made Wednesday night. But the Bulls practiced and Jordan, who had 33 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds in Game 2, had plenty to say about the alleged incident.
"I didn't think I did," Jordan said about Scott's accusation. "I never said anything to their bench. I made some big plays at that end of the court and showed emotion, I didn't angle it at them, I tried to respect them.
"It's just a matter of emotion. I certainly didn't try to taunt anybody. I think he took it out of context, misunderstood what I was doing."
The Lakers have beaten the Bulls in the last two games between the teams at the Forum - winning 99-86 last Feb. 2 and 121-103 on Feb. 7, 1990. Late in the 1988-89 season, the Bulls nipped the Lakers 104-103 at the Forum.
"I don't mind playing in this building," Jordan said. "We want to take the crowd out of it. We can do that by getting off to a good start (Friday night)."