By CHRIS SHERIDAN
of the Associated Press
ATLANTA -- USA-Croatia turned out to be Chicago Bull vs. Chicago Bull.
Scottie Pippen beat Toni Kukoc and the Dream Team won, too, easing past Croatia 102-71 Sunday night in a rematch of the 1992 Olympic gold medal game.
"I was out to do my best on him from a defensive standpoint," Pippen said. "He had a pretty good game today -- after I left."
Just like he did at the '92 Games, Pippen stuck to Kukoc and barely let him take an uncontested shot. By the time Pippen left midway through the second half, the United States was ahead by nearly 30 and Kukoc had scored only seven points.
"He was telling me to come back in, and I told him he can score now," Pippen said.
Kukoc finished with 10 points -- 7.5 below his Olympic average -- and shot 4-for-11 from the field. Pippen had three 3-pointers, three assists, two steals and nine points.
Mitch Richmond led the United States with 16 points, Charles Barkley had 14 points and 12 rebounds and David Robinson had 13 points.
The United States finished opening-round play 5-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals against Brazil on Tuesday night. Croatia finished third in Pool A and will play Australia in the quarters.
"It was a disappointing game, really, from a competitive standpoint," said Luc Longley, another member of the Bulls who watched the game from the stands. "Ten minutes into the game they were having fun, and after that it wasn't that intense. Our practices are often more intense than that."
Dino Radja, one of three NBA players on Croatia's roster, finished with nine points as he had trouble scoring against Barkley and Karl Malone's man-to-man defense. Zan Tabac, who plays for the Toronto Raptors, led Croatia with 19 points.
Radja scored on an alley-oop layup from Kukoc just before the buzzer to make the final deficit 31 points -- one less than Croatia's 32-point loss in the gold medal game four years ago.
"These 12 guys, after Dream Team I, are the best team to ever play on a basketball floor," Kukoc said.
With Kukoc and Radja misfiring on their first several shots and leading scorer Arijan Komazec on the bench with a sore ankle, Croatia had trouble scoring.
The U.S. team scored the first five points and added a 12-0 run to open a 23-8 lead. Richmond, Barkley and Robinson had 21 of the first 23 points, and 14 of the first 23 came on the fast break.
After that, the only suspense centered on whether Pippen would let his Chicago teammate score a point.
The answer came with 7:55 left in the half when Damir Mulaomerovic stepped in front of a pass intended for Gary Payton in the backcourt, stole the ball and fed Kukoc for an uncontested dunk. Pippen went to the bench moments later, but Grant Hill continued the defensive pressure and kept Kukoc scoreless the rest of the half.
In one 20-second stretch, Kukoc shot an airball from behind the 3-point line and Radja duplicated the feat from about eight feet away. The airball of the game, however, belonged to Karl Malone, who whiffed a free throw just moments later.
Kukoc scored twice on Pippen in the second half, once from behind a screen for a 3-pointer and once more when he faked Pippen off his feet and leaned underneath for an 18-footer.
"He said Right back at you,' then I came down and hit my third (3-pointer) and said Don't wake me up,' " Pippen said.
At the end of the game, the two shared a hug at center court. In 92, Kukoc was not yet on the Bulls and Pippen, unhappy with his own contract, was out to prove that he was worth more than Kukoc.
"We have more of a friendship now, and it wasn't as big a challenge because we know each other now and have mutual respect for each other," Pippen said.
"I know Scottie much better now and he knows me," Kukoc said. "The first time (in 1992), they were much more serious. Today, we could have some laughs."
Croatia pulled within 10 points at 35-25 with 6:52 left, but the Dream Team had a 20-10 run in opening a 57-38 lead at the half, and the United States outscored Croatia 23-9 in the first nine minutes of the second half to go ahead by 31.
