Giannis salutes KD after duel: 'Best I've seen in my life'

Giannis Antetokounmpo heaped praise on Kevin Durant after the two traded bucket after bucket Sunday before the Milwaukee Bucks escaped with a 117-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

"What he does is unbelievable," Antetokounmpo said postgame, according to ESPN's Malika Andrews. "Being 6-11, being able to shoot over everybody. The way he handles the ball and gets to his spot is unbelievable - the best I've seen in my life. I look up to him, I'm not gonna lie."

Durant dropped a team-high 42 points in 40 minutes Sunday, shooting 16-of-33 from the floor and 7-of-13 from deep.

However, Antetokounmpo responded with a Herculean effort of his own. The Greek star scored a season-high 49 points on 21-of-36 shooting - including 4-of-8 from distance - to go with eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and one steal over 36 minutes.

Antetokounmpo's best stretch came early in the third quarter when he scored 16 straight points for Milwaukee to begin the second half. By the end of that run, he and Durant were already at 36 and 26 points, respectively.

But the two-time reigning MVP says trying to match up with Durant all night wasn't his intention.

"Nobody in this world can go back and forth with KD," he said. "He's been one of the greatest scorers to ever play this game. I was just trying to do my job, get to my spots and execute and help my team win."

Durant won't need to wait long for a rematch, as the Bucks will host the Nets again Tuesday.