Schedule and 2011-12 Results
Regular Season Records: San Antonio 50-16, Los Angeles Clippers 40-26
Game 1 on Tuesday, 15 May: Los Angeles Clippers lose at San Antonio, 108-pts-92
Game 2 on Thursday, 17 May: Los Angeles Clippers lose at San Antonio, 105-pts-88
Game 3 on Saturday, 19 May: San Antonio wins at Los Angeles Clippers, 96-pts-86
Game 4 on Sunday, 20 May: San Antonio wins at Los Angeles Clippers, 102-pts-99

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 4: The San Antonio Spurs visited and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 102-pts-99 to sweep MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1180, 4-games-nil. With the series 1180 win, the San Antonio Spurs improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 27-18 overall and 11-10 in the Quarterfinals round. With the series 1180 loss, the Los Angeles Clippers see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record slip to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the Quarterfinals round. Series 1180 thus becomes the 25th NBA Quarterfinals-round series, the 62nd NBA series (all rounds), and the 195th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to end in a four-games-nil sweep. The San Antonio Spurs thus advance to the 2012 NBA Semifinals round, in which they will host the winner of series 1181 (between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder) in series 1183. San Antonio is the fourth team to begin an NBA playoff season with eight consecutive wins (Miami Heat, 2005; Cleveland Cavaliers, 2009; Orlando Magic, 2010) since the NBA adopted the best-of-7 format for its Preliminary round in 2003, and seeks to become the first to win nine consecutive games. By winning series 1180, the San Antonio Spurs become the 300th MLB/NBA/NHL team to win a best-of-7 playoff series it once led 3-games-nil.

After Game 3: Trailing by 22 points after the first quarter and by 10 points after the second quarter, the San Antonio Spurs rallied on the road to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 96-pts-86, thereby taking a 3-games-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1180. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-nil, the San Antonio Spurs have a 9-0 series record and a 5-4 Game 4 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-nil, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 0-0 series record and a 0-0 Game 4 record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff games, the 22-point lead taken by the Los Angeles Clippers after one quarter tied for the second-largest first-quarter lead ever (tying the Miami Heat’s 41-pts-19 lead over the New Jersey Nets in series 981 Game 2 of the 2006 NBA Quarterfinals in Miami, and the Phoenix Suns’ 40-pts-18 lead over the Portland Trailblazers in series 571 Game 3 of the 1990 NBA Semifinals in Phoenix; second only to the Milwaukee Bucks’ 40-pts-14 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in series 224 Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Quarterfinals in Philadelphia). The first quarter of series 1180 Game 3 is the first quarter after which the San Antonio Spurs have trailed a game in the 2012 NBA playoffs. The 22-point deficit is now the largest end-of-first-quarter deficit ever surmounted in a best-of-7 NBA playoff game, breaking the old record of a 21-point deficit (when the Boston Celtics trailed the Lakers in Los Angeles 35-pts-14 in series 1052 Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals but rallied to win 97-pts-91). With the series 1180 Game 3 win, the San Antonio Spurs vie as of this writing with the NHL Los Angeles Kings (now playing the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2012 NHL Semifinals) to become the 300th MLB/NBA/NHL team to convert a 3-games-nil lead into a best-of-7 playoff series victory.

After Game 2: Winning their sixth straight NBA playoff game, the San Antonio Spurs hosted and bested the Los Angeles Clippers 105-pts-88 for a 2-games-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1180. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the San Antonio Spurs have a 17-1 series record (with an active eight-series winning streak) and an 9-9 Game 3 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 0-0 series record and a 0-0 Game 3 record. The sole San Antonio loss in the wake of a 2-games-nil best-of-7 NBA playoff series lead occurred in series 932, when the Los Angeles Lakers defeated them in Games 3-6 to win their 2004 NBA Quarterfinals series 4-games-2 (this too in the wake of a 6-0 playoff-season start by San Antonio). The 2012 San Antonio Spurs are the first NBA team to begin a playoff season 6-0 since the Orlando Magic started 8-0 in 2010.

After Game 1: Winning their fifth straight NBA playoff game, the San Antonio Spurs hosted and bested the Los Angeles Clippers 108-pts-92 for a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1180. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the San Antonio Spurs have a 20-4 series record (with an active five-series winning streak) and an 18-6 Game 2 record (with an active four-Game 2 winning streak). When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 0-1 series record and a 1-0 Game 2 record (in series 983, against the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Quarterfinals). In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff series, teams such as San Antonio which win Game 1 by 16 points have a series record of 11-0 (with the Spurs themselves contributing two of those 11 wins, in series 690 [over the L.A. Lakers in the 1995 NBA Quarterfinals] and 840 [over the Dallas Mavericks in the 2001 NBA Quarterfinals]).

Pre-series assessment: In the 2011-12 NBA regular season, San Antonio finished ten games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers. From 1947 through the 2012 NBA Preliminary round, inclusive, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by ten regular-season games, they have posted a 17-3 (.850) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1180 is the fourth best-of-7 NBA playoff series for the Los Angeles Clippers, and the 45th for the San Antonio Spurs. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 2-1 series record, a 0-1 Quarterfinals-round series record, and a 2-1 Game 1 record, while San Antonio has a 26-18 series record, a 10-10 Quarterfinals-round record, and a 24-20 Game 1 record. Series 1180 is the first best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio.