Reflecting on the game that Northwestern both won and lost

It’s game six of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Just minutes to go, a big shot from Tony Parker and a backbreaking turnover from the Heat had the Spurs on the cusp of an NBA title, up 94-89 with just around 30 seconds left in the game. San Antonio had done it. They had beaten the Heat.

Except they hadn’t. Even though they had the ball and a two-possession advantage with less time than it takes for Microsoft Teams to load on the average laptop, the final whistle hadn’t blown, and an immaculate Ray Allen three sent the game to overtime, leading to Miami’s eventual victory.

That was the the most stark memory I had of a team losing a game that it felt like they…