Fresh off a career-high 52 points, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was confident enough to yell expletives at Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons after ferociously dunking on him and staring him down the Sixers with only 1:18 left in regulation.
The Greek Freak would then go on to explain why he would rather have Simmons guarding him than Joel Embiid, who often patrols the middle.
“It’s easy,” said Antetokounmpo, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’d rather have Ben guard me than Joel, it’s simple. If Joel is guarding me all night, everything is so tough for you. But when someone else switches, whether it’s Jimmy [Butler] or Ben or [Mike] Scott or [Boban] Marjanovic, it’s way easier and you just try to seize the opportunity and make a play.”
After being fouled on the play, Antetokounmpo yelled that Simmons is “a baby, a [f***king] baby.”
BEN SIMMONS 10 SECONDS LATER (via @sixers) pic.twitter.com/ahdxzOzFei
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 17, 2019
Yet things didn't get much easier for him, as Simmons was quickly back at the other end, getting a put-back slam over Antetokounmpo's heads and returning the staredown, in what became a very quick and obvious display of showmanship between the two.
Ultimately, it was Simmons who had the bragging rights to take home, as the Sixers took home the road win and beat the top seed in the East 130-125.
This is a matchup that can potentially become the one NBA fans get to see for the Eastern Conference Finals, and plenty of them are already salivating for the next time Simmons and Antetokounmpo go against one another again.
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