"My judgment remains the same. Charles, you dare bet against me? If Jack gets the MVP, I’ll not only kiss the donkey’s ass, I’ll kiss its mouth too. If Jack doesn’t get it, you’ll kiss it with me."

Kenny Smith taunted Barkley: "What? You scared? Aren’t you supposed to be so brave? Don’t you know all about the game of fame and fortune?"

Anyone who had just turned on their TV would definitely think they’d tuned to the wrong channel. This wasn’t a live basketball game; it was clearly a nature show.

"Fine! Kenny! I’ll take that bet, but you have to promise to kiss the donkey’s ass first, then its mouth, and you have to hold it for ten seconds." Barkley laid down his own harsh terms.

"You’re on."

Smith agreed in a heartbeat.

And he was overjoyed.

He was trying to drag Barkley down with him. Kissing a donkey’s ass alone would be humiliating. But if two people did it, it wouldn’t be so shameful.

"It’s a deal." The two quickly sealed their pact.

The directors were ecstatic. They never expected a donkey to have such a huge effect.

Broadcasting this segment caused the ratings to climb even higher.

At this point, the commentators began to analyze the game in earnest. Cole proposed, "When Coach Collins moved Jack to the 4-spot, he successfully contained Stadumier, which is why the Rookie team took the lead in the first half. But at the same time, we have to note that neither side was defending seriously in the first half. If both teams bring their A-game in the second half, I think the Sophomores will still have the advantage."

"At the very least, what’s the Rookies’ plan for dealing with Yao Ming?"

The Rookies’ average height was lower than the Sophomores’, and they were also lacking in all areas of experience.

"You’ve hit on the key point. The only reason the Rookies came back to take the lead in the first half is because only Su Xi was defending seriously. He caught the Sophomores completely off guard. If the Sophomores get serious, how are the Rookies supposed to win?"

Kenny Smith said.

Just then, the whistle blew, and the game resumed.

The Rookie lineup was: James, Syracuse, Josh Howard, Su Xi, and Kaman.

The Sophomore lineup was: Nene, Stadumier, Prince, Deng Liwei, and Ginobili.

In terms of height, the Sophomores had the advantage, even though they hadn’t subbed in Yao Ming.

James quickly brought the ball up the court. Now, the Sophomores’ defensive intensity ramped up.

Ginobili locked onto James. Ginobili had great defensive footwork, though his one-on-one defense wasn’t always consistent.

But under the pressure of his steps, James couldn’t break through. He lacked a change of pace in his dribble. In the end, after forcing his way one step inside, he came to a sudden stop and put up a shot.

CLANG!

The ball bricked.

Under the basket, Su Xi was already completely tangled up with Stadumier. Su Xi desperately boxed out Stadumier, and he had the positional advantage.

Su Xi’s ability to box out and his lower body strength were even stronger than Stadumier’s, a traditional big man.

On the sideline, Collins and A.C. Green watched, stunned. ’Jack’s a jack-of-all-trades!’

The ball from James’s bricked shot came down right toward the two of them. Just as Stadumier stretched out his arms, planning to use his height advantage to grab the ball, Su Xi gave a sudden shove, violently knocking Stadumier’s body aside before leaping explosively into the air.

He grabbed the ball with one hand and slammed it violently through the hoop.

BOOM!

Su Xi completed the powerful putback dunk.

But Stadumier had been thrown to the ground by Su Xi. There was an element of acting to it; he had originally planned to stumble a couple of steps in front of the referee to draw a foul. He just hadn’t expected Su Xi to be so strong. His intentional stumble turned into a real loss of balance, and he fell right on his ass.

How pathetic!

Especially with Su Xi looking like a mighty god descending from the heavens as he completed the dunk, Stadumier’s panicked fall made him look like a comical clown, only highlighting Su Xi’s divine power.

After landing, Su Xi didn’t forget to taunt Stadumier. "With your sorry-ass skills, you think you can take my All-Star spot?"

Su Xi’s dominance was absolute.

The TNT cameras faithfully recorded the imperious expression on Su Xi’s face as he looked down at Stadumier.

The audience watching on TV could all feel the overwhelming power radiating from the screen.

What does it mean to be imposing?

This was it.

"Jack is just wild. A guard took down Stadumier like a center, grabbed the offensive rebound, and threw down a monster dunk. This kid... he was born with that ’if you’ve got a problem, let’s fight’ kind of attitude."

Steve Kerr exclaimed with emotion.

Barkley quickly chimed in, "And that’s why Jack is so popular."

"But don’t you guys think he went too far? On a fun stage like the All-Star game, to so violently beat down Stadumier... is he trying to start a second Malice at the Palace?" Kenny Smith always managed to find a strange angle.

Just then, TNT played back the footage of Stadumier provoking Jack earlier. The director had faithfully recorded the shot of Stadumier trash-talking Su Xi on the bench. Then, they cut to another angle, and the audience saw Stadumier make the slanted-eye gesture.

The TNT broadcast booth fell deathly silent. You could even hear the commentators gasp.

Although such things happened endlessly in American society, who would dare discuss this topic on a nationally televised broadcast? It was the biggest taboo.

The viewers at home also instantly understood why Su Xi had been so furious.

As for the Asian fans, they were incensed, one and all, clamoring for Su Xi to destroy Stadumier.

Perhaps before, some people might have felt that Su Xi’s trash talk after knocking over Stadumier was a bit too aggressive. But now, everyone felt that what Su Xi did was completely justified—and that he could have even gone further!