Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are set to face a stingy first-round matchup in the NBA Playoffs when they take on Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers.

For awhile, the Mavericks had hovered around the play-in tournament seed line but were able to work their way up to the No. 5 seed to earn a date with the Clippers. Based on how the season has transpired for Dallas, if they get this one item to go in their favor, they are unbeatable.

Strange stats accumulate and pile up for any team in any sport throughout a season that are impossible to explain. That's the case with the Mavericks and this stat.

Via Mavericks.com, Doncic and Dallas are a perfect 27-0 this season when leading after the first quarter.

That's correct. If the game is 12 minutes in and the Mavericks are leaving, go ahead and pack it in and call it a night.

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There's sarcasm in that, of course, but the number is mind boggling.

Head coach Rick Carlisle was asked about the stat and if he or the team puts any stock into it.

“Good starts are important to us.” Carlisle said. “That’s obvious. That stat is an extreme stat.”

“There are no guarantees with anything in this league, but one guarantee is if you consistently have bad starts you’re going to lose games. We’ve made some progress in this area — we’ve got to continue to work at it.” – Rick Carlisle via Mavericks.com.

The number is one that is hard to fathom and even harder to explain how they didn't slip up even once after leading through 12 minutes in a 72 game season.

As the Mavericks get set to face the Clippers they will likely preach and sing to the same tune; get out to a quick start and it stacks the deck in their favor.