It was in contrasting ways that the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves secured Game 1 victories in their respective 2026 NBA playoffs second round series.
But best believe that the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs will surely have something up their sleeve in a bid to tie things up in Game 2.
So here's what to look for in these upcoming games streaming live on Disney+ in the Philippines.
Can the 76ers neutralize Brunson? (May 7, 7 a.m. PHT: 76ers vs. Knicks Game 2)
New York pretty much exploited the drop coverage of Philadelphia's bigs through every Jalen Brunson ball screen -- and Game 1 showed just how damaging that can be over a full game.
The Knicks opened the series with a 137-98 blowout win, driven by Brunson's complete control of the offense. He finished with 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting in just 31 minutes, including 27 points in the first half, consistently getting into the paint or pulling up comfortably against Philadelphia's coverage.
It was also the 15th time he has scored 35 markers donning the blue and orange, which is the most in Knicks' playoff history.
The issue for Philadelphia was structural.
With Joel Embiid playing in drop coverage, Brunson repeatedly attacked the space either walking into pull-up jumpers or forcing rotations that opened up shooters. New York shot 63.1% from the field and 51.4% from three, showing how easily their offense flowed once Brunson created advantages.
At the same time, the Sixers couldn't keep up offensively, with Embiid held to 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting and Tyrese Maxey limited to 13 points on 3-of-9 due to him being hunted on the defensive side, highlighting how one-sided the game became.
For Philadelphia, the adjustment might be simple but hard to make it into fruition because they need to take away Brunson's comfort. It could be about pre-switching Embiid out early from the ball screen, showing higher on screens, or forcing the ball out of his hands earlier by blitzing or hedging a small guard like him.
Unlocking Wembanyama's offensive game (May 7, 9:30 a.m. PHT: Wolves vs. Spurs Game 2)
Even in a historic performance, the bigger story for San Antonio might be what didn't work offensively.
In Game 1, Victor Wembanyama delivered a defensive performance for the record books, finishing with 11 points, 15 rebounds, 12 blocks, and five assists in a 102-104 loss to Minnesota.
His 12 blocks set an NBA playoff single-game record, anchoring a Spurs defense that kept the game within reach the entire night. But despite that dominance, San Antonio still fell short, largely because their offensive centerpiece couldn't find rhythm.
The Wolves made that difficult from the start.
Wembanyama shot just 5-of-17 from the field and 0-of-8 from three, often forced into tough jumpers or pushed away from his preferred spots. Minnesota's physicality and discipline took away easy looks at the rim while staying attached to him on the perimeter.
At the same time, De'Aaron Fox struggled to provide secondary scoring, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting, which allowed the Wolves to stay locked in on Wembanyama without consistently being punished elsewhere.
Now the question is whether San Antonio can make the right adjustments.
They need to find ways to get Wembanyama easier touches and generate more support around him to tame the Anthony Edwards-led Wolves.