We’ve all been there. Stuck at a holiday function and roped into a boring conversation with one eye on the television as a game comes down to the wire.
Charles Barkley was all of us then, as the Celtics and Nets traded buckets in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Easter Sunday while the NBA on TNT panel did its best to preview the Bulls-Bucks series. Barkley was holding it together like a pro, too, until Jayson Tatum spun around Kyrie Irving to drop in a game-winning layup at the buzzer. At that point Charles did what all of us would: scream in excitement and completely disrupt the room.
"UNBELIEVABLE!"
The Inside crew reacts to Jayson Tatum's clutch game-winner in Boston. pic.twitter.com/vsHp3yLl4e
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2022
How can you not love Barkley’s reaction? With no regard for whatever Kenny Smith was trying to talk about, Charles just lets his emotions go and immediately—and rightfully!—changes the topic. The excitement in his voice is almost as good as Tatum’s bucket.
The Nets (+4.5), meanwhile, have to find a way to regroup after blowing an intense 39-point game from Kyrie. The NBA on TNT panel can kind of relate. They had to somehow get back to talking about the Bucks and Bulls. Just don’t ask Barkley where that discussion was heading. He was just as focused on the action in Boston as the rest of us.
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