The Milwaukee Bucks took on the Brooklyn Nets in a high-profile preseason encounter on Wednesday night. It may have been a non-bearing game, but there sure was a lot riding on the matchup between two of the top sides in the Eastern Conference this season.

Nets fans got a little bit too excited when they saw new star Ben Simmons “locking down” Giannis Antetokounmpo down low. Simmons prevented the Bucks superstar from driving to the rack during a 1-on-1 matchup in the post, which unsurprisingly drew some hyped reactions from Brooklyn supporters:

Competing out there pic.twitter.com/lGLpIlEMJP

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 13, 2022

huge season ahead of us if Ben locks down like that

— JC 😤 (@Iconic_Simmons) October 13, 2022

Well, Giannis seems to have somehow heard all the rumblings and it didn’t take long for him to clap back. As always, Antetokounmpo lets his game do the talking, and he did just that against Simmons later in the game:

Giannis is too strong. 💪 pic.twitter.com/G9T4PNWCyH

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 13, 2022

Another angle of Giannis playing bully ball on Ben Simmons 👀pic.twitter.com/tRYR0j1jrp

Giannis literally played bully ball against Simmons in that one. The Bucks star showcased his full strength against Simmons, and on this particular occasion, the former Rookie of the Year was just no match to Antetokounmpo’s muscle.

To be fair to Ben Simmons, he looked like he was in good form in this one. Nets head coach Steve Nash already noted previously that the team doesn’t expect their new star to make an immediate impact for Brooklyn, considering how he’s coming off a year-long injury hiatus. Nevertheless, it looks like the Nets won’t have to wait very long before they see the best out of their new recruit.

It goes without saying, however, that Simmons will probably want to be in better shape the next time he faces off against the beast that is Giannis Antetokounmpo.