"Let me die": Kenny Smith would rather choke to death than receive 'mouth-to-mouth' from Charles Barkley

NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Charles Barkley had some fun with his “Inside the NBA” co-host, Kenny Smith, during Thursday’s show, offering him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Following the LA Lakers' 100-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns, Barkley was reading out some stats from the game. Smith then got choked up, leading Barkley to show some concern for his co-host.

Barkley responded by jokingly offering to do mouth-to-mouth to Smith to prevent him from dying on national television. However, Smith then joked back that he would rather die than receive mouth-to-mouth from Barkley:

“You alright? Do you need mouth-to-mouth or something,” Barkley asked.

“Easy. Don’t get excited,” Smith said.

“I don’t want you to die or choke to death on TV,” Barkley said.

“I’m not choking then. Let me die,” Smith said.

Check out the humorous moment below (4:05 mark):

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Charles Barkley says the LA Lakers are not significantly better than most teams in the Western Conference

LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James and NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Charles Barkley

Later on in Thursday's episode of Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley went back and forth with his other co-host, Shaquille O’Neal. The two argued about how good the LA Lakers really are and whether they can separate themselves from the rest of the Western Conference.

O’Neal first said that he wants to see the Lakers come out stronger against lesser opponents, so they don’t always have to make comebacks. This comes after the Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points before mounting a comeback against the shorthanded Suns on Thursday.

“I’m concerned that they keep having these dramatic comeback wins,” O’Neal said.

“I would like to see them, especially if they want to be recognized as a powerhouse in the West, I would like them to jump out early. Phoenix only had (Kevin Durant) out there. We got (LeBron James) and we got (Anthony Davis). We gotta come put our foot on their neck.

“All these comeback wins, I think that’s gonna affect LeBron. You talk about a minutes restriction, we wanna take care of business early, so our guy can sit down.”

However, Barkley then argued that the Lakers aren’t significantly better than most teams in the West. So, they shouldn’t be expected to dominate on a nightly basis:

“They’re not better — Who are they a lot better than in the Western Conference?” Barkley asked.

“At LeBron’s age and Anthony Davis being inconsistent, Dallas is probably the worst team they're gonna play in the Western Conference. What’s the worst team in the Western Conference? Portland? … They’re not gonna have any easy nights.”

The two then continued to go back and forth before ultimately agreeing that the Lakers should have won against Phoenix, as they did.

(4:38 mark below)

The Lakers (1-1) next play on Sunday on the road against the Sacramento Kings (1-0).