Schedule and 2011-12 Results
Regular Season Records: Oklahoma City 47-19, Miami 46-20
Game 1 on Tuesday, 12 June: Miami loses at Oklahoma City, 105-pts-94
Game 2 on Thursday, 14 June: Miami wins at Oklahoma City, 100-pts-96
Game 3 on Sunday, 17 June: Oklahoma City loses at Miami, 91-pts-85
Game 4 on Tuesday, 19 June: Oklahoma City loses at Miami, 104-pts-98
Game 5 on Thursday, 21 June: Oklahoma City loses at Miami, 121-pts-106

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 5: Having taken the largest best-of-7 NBA Finals Game 5 lead after three quarters ever (24 points), the Miami Heat hosted and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-pts-106 for a 4-games-1 win in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184. So it is that the Miami Heat win the 2012 NBA championship. With the series 1184 victory, the Miami Heat improve their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record to 15-8 overall and 2-1 in the Finals. With the series 1184 loss, the Oklahoma City Thunder see their best-of-7 NBA playoff series record fall to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in the Finals. The win order for the victorious Miami Heat in series 1184 was LWWWW: Series 1184 thus becomes the seventh NBA Finals, the 17th NBA series (all rounds), and the 54th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The 2012 NBA playoff season thus ends after 84 games (the most since 85 games in 2009).

After Game 4: Surmounting a 14-point deficit after one quarter, the Miami Heat hosted and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-pts-98 to take a 3-games-1 lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the Miami Heat have a 6-0 series record and a 5-1 Game 5 record with an active four-Game 5 winning streak. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 3-games-1, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 0-1 series record and a 0-1 Game 5 record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff games prior to series 1184 Game 4, home teams trailing by 14 points after one quarter had a 2-9 (.182) game record; the last home team to emerge victorious from such a situation was the Oklahoma City Thunder, in series 1183 Game 6 over the visiting San Antonio Spurs to win the 2012 NBA Western Conference Finals. MLB/NBA/NHL teams with a LWWW @ VVHH win/site order (such as Miami in the 2012 NBA Finals) are on a ten-series winning streak; the last loss was by the Cleveland Indians in series 1020, in the 2007 MLB Semifinals; the last NBA loss was by the Los Angeles Lakers in series 977, to the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Preliminary round.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184 in south Florida for Games 3-5, the Miami Heat hosted and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 91-pts-85 to take a 2-games-1 lead in the 2012 NBA Finals. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the Miami Heat have a 7-4 series record and a 4-7 Game 4 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 2-games-1, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 2-2 series record and a 3-1 Game 4 record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA Finals series, teams leading LWW (as Miami now leads) have an 11-1 series record with a nine-series winning streak: The sole loss was sustained by the Los Angeles Lakers in series 150, to the Boston Celtics in the 1962 NBA Finals.

After Game 2: The Miami Heat visited and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-pts-96 to knot MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184 at 1-game-all. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 NBA playoff series, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 1-1 series record and a 0-2 Game 3 record, while the Miami Heat have a 5-4 series record and a 7-2 Game 3 record. Series 1184 becomes the third best-of-7 NBA playoff series in which the home team won Game 1 by 11 points and lost Game 2 by four: In series 345, the San Antonio Spurs did likewise against the old Washington Bullets, and lost in six games in the 1978 NBA Quarterfinals; in series 519, the Denver Nuggets did likewise against the Dallas Mavericks, and lost in six games in the 1988 NBA Quarterfinals. The loss ends the Oklahoma City home-court winning streak from the start of the 2012 NBA playoffs at nine games.

After Game 1: Surmounting a seven-point deficit at home after one quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Miami Heat 105-pts-94 to take a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184. When leading a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a 3-0 series record and a 3-0 Game 2 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NBA playoff series 1-game-nil, the Miami Heat have a 4-6 series record and a 5-5 Game 2 record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff games prior to series 1184 Game 1, home teams trailing by seven points after one quarter had a 26-27 (.491) game record. In the history of best-of-7 NBA playoff series from 1947 through the 2012 NBA Semifinals, inclusive, home teams winning Game 1 by a double-digit victory margin had a series record of 165-23 (.878) overall and 23-3 (.885) in the Finals. The series 1184 Game 1 victory is the ninth consecutive home-court victory by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2011-12 NBA regular season, Oklahoma City finished one game ahead of Miami. From 1947 through the 2012 NBA Semifinals round, inclusive, when NBA teams finished one regular-season game ahead of their best-of-7 playoff series opponents, they have posted a 16-20 (.444) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1184 is the 23rd best-of-7 NBA playoff series for the Miami Heat, and the eighth for the Oklahoma City Thunder. In best-of-7 NBA playoff series, Miami has a 14-8 series record, a 1-1 Finals-round series record, and a 12-10 Game 1 record (with an active four-Game 1 winning streak), while Oklahoma City has a 5-2 series record, a 0-0 Finals-round record, and a 3-4 Game 1 record. Series 1184 is the first best-of-7 NBA playoff series meeting between Miami and Oklahoma City.