“Man, they were kissing babies?” - Charles Barkley and Inside The NBA crew troll Minnesota Timberwolves for celebrating their play-in game win over LA Clippers
Charles Barkley and the rest of the Inside The NBA crew couldn't resist trolling the Minnesota Timberwolves following their win over the LA Clippers in the play-in tournament. The Timberwolves sealed their place as the seventh-seed in the Western Conference playoffs. It will be their first trip to the postseason since 2018.
Minnesota players erupted in wild celebrations and were trolled online by rival players, analysts and NBA fans. The NBA on TNT crew featuring Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson joined in on the fun on-air, on the set of Inside The NBA. Barkley displayed his hilarious sense of humor once again, saying (via NBA on TNT):
"I want to thank you guys for another year," said Charles Barkley to his fellow analysts, terming the T'Wolves' celebrations as if they had won the title. "Man, they were kissing babies? God damn! See y'all next year."
As soon as Patrick Beverley grabbed the last rebound, he jumped on the announcers' table on the sidelines to rile up the home crowd, similar to the way Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade did when they won a chip with their respective teams.
Many considered the Minnesota Timberwolves' celebrations to be overboard as this was just a win that sealed their playoff berth for this season. To be fair to them, Minnesota has struggled for several years as a lottery team and finding some success in the form of a postseason berth is a solid achievement for them.
Minnesota Timberwolves rally to beat LA Clippers and seal playoff berth
The Minnesota Timberwolves had to overcome plenty of obstacles in their play-in game against the LA Clippers. The biggest was to win the tie with talisman Karl-Anthony Towns not having a great night. KAT scored only 11 points, shooting three of 11 from the floor before he fouled out after playing only 24 minutes.
TWOLVES WIN THE PLAY-IN
PAT BEV'S REACTION TO BEATING HIS FORMER TEAM 🤣🔥 https://t.co/s55sYTcJLL
In his absence, the team's other two stars, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell, stabled the ship for the Timberwolves, combining for 59 points, on 20 of 39 shooting. It was mostly a close encounter, but Edwards and Russell, along with Patrick Beverley, managed to come up clutch down the stretch to overturn an 83-93 deficit and win the tie 109-104.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will now face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first-round of the 2022 NBA playoffs. Both teams have young players leading their charge, and it is expected to be an intense battle between them.