Schedule and 2011-12 Results
Regular Season Records: Oklahoma City 47-19, Los Angeles Lakers 41-25
Game 1 on Monday, 14 May: Los Angeles Lakers lose at Oklahoma City, 119-pts-90
Game 2 on Wednesday, 16 May: Los Angeles Lakers lose at Oklahoma City, 77-pts-75
Game 3 on Friday, 18 May: Oklahoma City loses at Los Angeles Lakers, 99-pts-96
Game 4 on Saturday, 19 May: Oklahoma City wins at Los Angeles Lakers, 103-pts-100
Game 5 on Monday, 21 May: Los Angeles Lakers lose at Oklahoma City, 106-pts-90

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 5: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181 in Oklahoma for Game 5, the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 106-pts-90, thereby notching a 4-games-1 win in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181. With the series 1181 win, the Oklahoma City Thunder improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the NBA Quarterfinals. With the series 1181 loss, the Los Angeles Lakers see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record fall to 68-30 overall and 25-9 in the NBA Quarterfinals. The win order for the victorious Oklahoma City Thunder in series 1181 was WWLWW: Series 1181 thus becomes the 23rd NBA Quarterfinals series, the 52nd NBA series (all rounds), and the 105th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. Oklahoma City thus advances to the 2012 NBA Semifinals to face the San Antonio Spurs in series 1183.

After Game 4: Trailing by ten points on the road at halftime, the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 103-pts-100 to take a 3-games-1 lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 1-0 series record and a 1-0 Game 5 record (achieved against the Denver Nuggets in series 1144, in the 2011 NBA Preliminary round). When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 1-15 series record (with an active twelve-series losing streak) and a 5-11 Game 5 record; the sole series win was series 227, in which the Lakers won Games 5-7 against the Phoenix Suns in their 1970 NBA Quarterfinals series. Prior to Saturday 19 May 2012 (a day on which both Los Angeles NBA teams led at home by ten halftime points but lost the game), road teams in best-of-7 NBA playoff games which trailed by ten halftime points had an 11-73 (.131) game record.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181 in southern California for Games 3-4, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 99-pts-96 to cut the Thunder series 1181 lead to 2-games-1. The Oklahoma City Thunder now lead a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1 for the first time in this, their sixth best-of-7 NBA playoff series. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 6-18 series record and an 8-16 Game 4 record. The last NBA team to post a win/site order of WWL @ HHV through three games but lose a best-of-7 playoff series was the New Orleans Hornets, in series 1049 to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2008 NBA Quarterfinals; so it is that the 2008 Spurs set a favorable precedent for the 2012 Lakers.

After Game 2: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 77-pts-75 to take a 2-games-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 2-0 series record and a 2-0 Game 3 record; the wins occurred in the 2011 and 2012 NBA Preliminary rounds. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-nil, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 2-16 series record and a 12-6 Game 3 record; the two series wins occurred in series 211 (over the San Francisco Warriors in the 1969 NBA Quarterfinals) and 932 (35 years later, over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 NBA Quarterfinals).

After Game 1: The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 119-pts-90 to take a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 2-0 series record and a 2-0 Game 2 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Los Angeles Lakers have an 11-22 series record and a 15-18 Game 2 record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff series, teams winning Game 1 by 29+ points (as the Thunder did in series 1181 Game 1) have a 16-3 (.842) series record.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2011-12 NBA regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder finished six games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. From 1947 through the 2012 NBA Preliminary round, inclusive, when NBA teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by six regular-season games, they have posted a 17-4 (.810) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1181 is the 98th best-of-7 NBA playoff series for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the sixth for Oklahoma City. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 68-29 series record, a 25-8 Quarterfinals-round series record, and a 64-33 Game 1 record, while Oklahoma City has a 3-2 series record, a 1-0 Quarterfinals-round record, and a 2-3 Game 1 record. Series 1181 is the second best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City; the Lakers defeated the Thunder in series 1108, in the 2010 NBA Preliminary round.