quote:
McCray: In the fourth quarter, they sent Kupchak in to get under Olajuwon's skin and kind of ruffle his feathers to see if they could disrupt his rhythm.
Rambis: [Pat] Riley made a point of agitating everybody to the point that we were so on edge — and I say agitating in a good way — he got the team hyped up, ready to play. And Mitch was always a very physical, hard-nosed player.
Reid: I kept trying to tell Dream, "Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it." But when Kupchak kept poking him in the stomach, Dream said, "Do it again, I'm going to knock you out."
Olajuwon: I don't mind people being physical. But this guy, he had no intentions of playing defense. [He was in] just to rough you up. I had 27 or so points already. He came in and was just too rough. I told myself, "I don't mind physical. I don't back down." So, if that was the game plan it worked perfectly. I got kicked out.
Jess Kersey (referee): I tried to get between Hakeem and Kupchak and had Hakeem around the waist. They were throwing punches above my head because I'm only 5-10. I grabbed Hakeem when he was on his heels and the little bit of body weight that I had, it kind of moved him back a little bit and both of us went down to the floor. People were coming around and they were kicking at Hakeem.
Rambis: It was a validation, like most NBA brawls, that basketball players can't fight.
Kersey: Somebody punched me in the head and I yelled up, "I don't know which one of you just punched me in the head, but if I find out, you're going to be ejected." With that, Bill Fitch said to me, "Jess, I know who punched you." Of course in the heat of the moment, I look at Bill and say, "Who was it?" He said, "It was Kareem and Magic."
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