The Inside the NBA crew were up to their usual shenanigans on Tuesday evening.
Unfortunately, Charles Barkley‘s hot hand finally cooled down as the 1993 MVP went 0-6 on his parlay following the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 127-100 blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Devin Booker led the way for the Suns with 26 points and ten assists.
Kevin Durant totaled 14 points after missing the past seven games with a calf strain as the Suns snapped a five-game losing streak.
The Lakers, meanwhile, suffered their third defeat on the bounce. Anthony Davis finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds while LeBron James had a quiet 18-point, eight-rebound and ten-assist performance.
The Suns outscored the Lakers 36-18 in the third quarter, which was where the game was won and lost. JJ Redick‘s team struggled from beyond the arc all game, finishing just 8 of 34 (23.5%) from 3-point range.
The purple and gold’s lacklustre shooting ultimately cost them the game, as well as Barkley’s parlay, and Sir Charles wasn’t happy about it, aiming his frustration at ‘The King’.
“Is it my fault LeBron’s a bum?” Barkley joked.
“Chuck went 0-6 and still found a way to blame LeBron instead of his trash picks,” one fan commented on X.
“Lmaooooo he’s cooking,” another added.
Barkley and the crew failed to mention his other five picks but presumably they didn’t go his way.
Chuck’s busted parlay marks the end of a rare hot streak that recently saw him win a ‘$5m wager’ with O’Neal.
Last week, Shaq and Chuck were previewing the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ showdown with the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics when they decided to make things a little more interesting.
“Cavs by 10,” O’Neal declared and Barkley immediately bit.
“Bet How much? $2 million,” he said.
The NBA Cup bet eventually made its way to $5 million as both men refused to back down.
The Cavs went on to lose 120-117 and ‘The Big Aristotle’ asked somebody to fetch a big bag of bills in order to pay up.
Both NBA legends were in fine form on Tuesday night for a series of marquee matchups that saw the Bucks beat the Heat, the Rockets overcome the Timberwolves and the Spurs best the Jazz.
At one point in the show, Shaq couldn’t resist taking a light-hearted jab at Barkley over the topic of weight loss.
It all started when Jalen Rose, who was filling in for Kenny Smith, asked Shaq a question about milk: “You told (Alonzo Mourning) you’re not drinking milk?”
“Low-fat milk,” Shaq clarified.
“You already got the fat cut,” Barkley chimed in.
“Ozempic still looking for your a**,” Shaq said to Barkley. “Ozempic, I’m snitching, he’s right here. Ozempic FBI, he’s right here.”
Earlier this year, Barkley revealed he’d lost 62 pounds on Ozempic competitor Mounjaro, telling Pat McAfee the weight loss drug is “amazing” and his motivation is to live longer.
Chuck said he started at 352 pounds and now weighs 290, and he hopes to reach 270 pounds.
“It’s been great, I’m starting to feel like a human being not a fat-a** anymore,” Barkley said in typical Barkley fashion.
