Schedule and 2011-12 Results
Regular Season Records: Oklahoma City 47-19, Dallas 36-30
Game 1 on Saturday, 28 April: Dallas loses at Oklahoma City, 99-pts-98
Game 2 on Monday, 30 April: Dallas loses at Oklahoma City, 102-pts-99
Game 3 on Thursday, 03 May: Oklahoma City wins at Dallas, 95-pts-79
Game 4 on Saturday, 05 May: Oklahoma City wins at Dallas, 103-pts-97

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 4: Despite trailing by 13 points after three quarters on the road, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 103-pts-97 for a 4-games-nil sweep of MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1175. With the series 1175 victory, the Oklahoma City Thunder improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Preliminary round. With the series 1175 loss, the Dallas Mavericks see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record fall to 12-14 overall and 5-5 in the Preliminary round. The win order for the victorious Oklahoma City Thunder in series 1175 was WWWW: Series 1175 thus becomes the 14th NBA Preliminary-round series, the 60th NBA series (all rounds), and the 192nd MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to feature a 4-games-nil sweep. The 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder are the 100th NBA team to convert a 3-games-nil best-of-7 NBA playoff series lead into a series victory; no NBA team in that situation has lost the series. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff games from 1947 through Friday 04 May 2012, road teams such as Oklahoma City which trailed by 13 points after three quarters had a game record of only 1-56 (.018); the sole previous comeback was achieved in series 901 Game 6, by the San Antonio Spurs in Dallas against the Mavericks in their 2003 NBA Semifinals series.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1175 in Texas for Games 3-4, the Oklahoma City Thunder visited and defeated the defending NBA champions 95-pts-79 for a 3-games-nil series 1175 lead. The Dallas Mavericks thus become the 301st MLB/NBA/NHL team to attempt to win a best-of-7 playoff series after having fallen behind 3-games-nil. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 1-0 series record and a 0-1 Game 4 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-nil, the Dallas Mavericks have a 0-2 series record and a 2-0 Game 4 record.

After Game 2: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-pts-99 to take a 2-games-nil MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1175 lead. Series 1175 thus becomes only the fifth best-of-7 NBA playoff series in which the team taking the 2-games-nil lead did so through a combined victory margin of four points or less, and the first since series 900 (in which the New Jersey Nets won Games 1-2 by a combined four-point victory margin over the Detroit Pistons in the 2003 NBA Semifinals en route to a four-game sweep). All four NBA teams that previously took a 2-games-nil lead through a combined victory margin of four points or less won their series, despite the miniscule margins of victory. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a series record of 1-0 and a Game 3 record of 1-0 (both in series 1144, against the Denver Nuggets in the 2011 NBA Preliminary round). When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Dallas Mavericks have a 1-7 series record and a 6-2 Game 3 record; the sole Maverick victory in this context occurred in series 946, against the Houston Rockets in the 2005 NBA Preliminary round.

After Game 1: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and defeated the Dallas Mavericks 99-pts-98 to take a 1-game-nil MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1175 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 1-0 series record and a 1-0 Game 2 record (the sole precedent against the Denver Nuggets in series 1144, in the 2011 NBA Preliminary round). When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Dallas Mavericks have a 6-10 series record and an 8-8 Game 2 record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2011-12 NBA regular season, Oklahoma City finished eleven games ahead of Dallas. From 1947 through the 2011 NBA Finals round, inclusive, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by eleven regular-season games, they have posted a 19-5 (.792) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1175 is the 26th best-of-7 NBA playoff series for Dallas, and the fifth for Oklahoma City. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, Dallas has a 12-13 series record (with an active four-series winning streak), a 5-4 Preliminary-round series record, and a 9-16 Game 1 record, while Oklahoma City has a 2-2 series record, a 1-1 Preliminary-round record, and a 1-3 Game 1 record. Series 1175 is the second best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between Dallas and Oklahoma City: Dallas won series 1150 (in the 2011 NBA Semifinals).