The matter of Barkley kissing butt is unavoidable no matter what.
Glory easily defeated the Heat in Miami 109:94 with a 15-point advantage, securing the victory.
Yao Ming shot 10 for 8 from the field, made all 4 free throws, and scored 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 4 blocks, and 2 assists.
Not only did he successfully exceed 19 points, but his shooting percentage, matchup, and other aspects were all impressive.
It can be said that Yao Ming’s performance in this game was impeccable, and Barkley couldn’t find an excuse to evade.
Shortly after the live broadcast ended, during Turner Television’s weekly Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley had to respond to the issue directly.
In the show, Barkley tried to gloss over the matter by discussing the performance of strong teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences this week, Kobe Bryant potentially having an MVP season, and whether Tim Duncan could lead the Celtics to another championship.
But after chatting for a while, nobody responded to Barkley’s diversion, instead, they smiled and looked at him.
However, Barkley was adamant about avoiding the topic, hoping he could gloss over it.
Kenny Smith certainly wouldn’t let Barkley slide; he was prepared.
He first asked Barkley, "Charles, hold on a moment, I have something to ask you. How do you evaluate Yao Ming’s performance in the last game against the Heat when he was matched up against O’Neal?"
"Oh, Yao, the kid performed well, I hope he plays well, I’m very happy with his excellent performance!"
"Cut it out, Charles, look clearly, Yao Ming shot 10 for 8 against O’Neal! An eighty percent shooting percentage, scoring 20 points! Buddy, you said he wouldn’t get 19 points!"
"What’s the big deal about 10 for 8! I can also be 10 for 8! 20 points is a subpar performance for me."
Barkley was still being stubborn, unwilling to bring up the bet.
Kenny Smith stopped with the nonsense, getting straight to the point: "Enough with the nonsense, Charles, everyone remembers our bet, Yao Ming only needed to score 19 points and you would kiss my butt! Now Yao Ming scored 20 points, come on, hurry up!"
Barkley stubbornly refused. The studio was full of people ready to pull him up to kiss Kenny Smith’s butt.
He sat on the sofa, grasping the back with both hands, practically welded to the sofa, unwilling to get up.
Kenny Smith knew this guy would renege; he was figuring out a way to make excuses during the live broadcast last time. Now facing the camera, he didn’t want to kiss, and neither did I want to pull down my pants.
"I knew you’d cheat, Charles! Come on, I found a substitute, bring it up!"
A staff member led a small donkey from behind, Kenny Smith said, "I rented this from the Atlanta farm for 500 US Dollars. You don’t want to kiss my butt? No problem, this is my substitute, just kiss it!"
In English slang, ’ass’ not only means butt, it also means donkey, if you don’t want to kiss my butt, kiss the donkey’s butt instead.
Barkley was laughing uncontrollably, he worriedly asked, "Will the donkey kick me?"
"It won’t, he’s very docile, come on, Charles!"
The donkey had already turned with its butt facing Barkley, with a sign around its neck that read "Kenny."
Kenny Smith had no choice, he had to bite the bullet, and slowly approached the donkey, quickly and gently kissed a small spot on the donkey’s backside.
Everyone laughed, Barkley’s iconic moment was broadcasted globally through TV signals, becoming a milestone in his hosting career.
Though he seemed rather clownish in this incident, ultimately he kept his promise and kissed "Kenny’s" butt, showing himself to be a man of his word, which everyone naturally wouldn’t mind about his dismissive remarks about Yao Ming.
Moreover, everyone knew this was all for the show’s effect, who doesn’t know Barkley is a loyal follower of Ah Gan.
Without Ah Gan’s consent, how could Barkley openly mock Yao Ming on TV?
For Yao Ming, Barkley’s mockery is pressure, but also motivation, a vital part of NBA entertainment.
When Barkley kissing the donkey’s butt was aired, Glory Team was playing away in Orlando, during halftime, everyone saw this scene on the locker room TV.
The whole team applauded enthusiastically, cheering for Yao Ming’s performance in rebuking Barkley on the court.
Jordan and Gan Guoyang were almost dying of laughter, they could tease Barkley over this for half a lifetime.
Of course, Gan Guoyang still held onto an even bigger piece of Barkley’s laughable past, which he promised Barkley he’d never reveal.
After the laughter, the game continued in the second half, tonight against the Magic, Yao Ming had already been promoted to the starting lineup.
His 20 points against the Heat and O’Neal made Tomjanovich realize Yao Ming was already a qualified NBA starter.
Ewing was indeed too old, especially on the offensive end, starting to drag the team’s pace and hold them back, the bench was his place.
Yao Ming performed better and better, gradually adapting to the NBA environment, deepening his understanding of the Glory team’s tactical system.
Yao Ming is smart, he knows what he can do, can’t do, should do, and shouldn’t do on the court.
The game against the Magic had little suspense, since losing O’Neal, the Magic never managed to come out of the quagmire.