How to Use jump ball in a Sentence

jump ball

noun
  • Auburn won the jump ball, and McCormick hit the third three of the night.
    Giana Han, al, 6 Dec. 2019
  • On the rebound of Love’s post miss, the Cavs forced a jump ball.
    Chris Fedor, cleveland, 6 Nov. 2019
  • The Bucks star then knocked the ball away from Butler and forced a jump ball.
    Ben Steele, USA TODAY, 22 May 2021
  • What was once his race to lose now looks more like a jump ball.
    BostonGlobe.com, 15 Oct. 2021
  • On the next possession, Pritchard dove on the floor and forced a jump ball.
    Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2018
  • Dove won the jump ball and came down with the TD reception.
    Brian Gosset, star-telegram, 15 Dec. 2017
  • We’ve just got to find ways to get better on jump balls.
    Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 5 Oct. 2019
  • The Fever were able to come down with the final rebound before the Sky reached in to draw the jump ball.
    Gabby Hajduk, The Indianapolis Star, 19 June 2022
  • After forcing a jump ball with the score tied at 55-all, BNL gave the ball to Allen for the last shot.
    Kenzie Winstead, The Courier-Journal, 3 Feb. 2018
  • Those are tough numbers for a big body that should win jump balls.
    cleveland, 16 Apr. 2020
  • Because, of course, the joke was, none of those drivers were tall enough to snag a jump ball.
    Dana Hunsinger Benbow, The Indianapolis Star, 20 May 2021
  • As the teams fought for ball, officials called a jump ball.
    Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 4 Feb. 2022
  • That led to a jump ball with 4 minutes and 49 seconds left.
    Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2022
  • The call on the court was a jump ball because the refs couldn't determine who knocked it out.
    Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2018
  • Don't get any ideas of James stepping on the court for the jump ball and then heading to the bench, either.
    Joe Vardon, cleveland.com, 9 Apr. 2018
  • The ball could be out of bounds or in a different spot or even be ruled a jump ball.
    Jake Fischer, SI.com, 10 July 2019
  • There were jump balls caused by the Mustangs that went in Friendswood’s favor.
    Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 11 Jan. 2020
  • Then, Bogdanovic jumped on Leonard for the jump ball — which Bogdanovic won.
    Andy Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 June 2021
  • By rule, a clock malfunction is solved with a jump ball.
    Tania Ganguli, latimes.com, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Phoenix won the jump ball and Paul hit a jumper to send the Suns to the victory after blowing a 16-point lead.
    Chronicle News Services, SFChronicle.com, 1 Jan. 2021
  • Officials overturned the call and the game came down to a jump ball at midcourt.
    Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 31 Oct. 2019
  • Cleveland's Jarrett Allen tapped the opening jump ball right to Hield, who turned and made a 3.
    Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Dec. 2022
  • With 6 seconds remaining in a one-point game, the two teams were sent to mid-court for a jump ball.
    Journal Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Robles missed a short jumper with five seconds left, but a jump ball on the rebound gave the ball back to Ridge.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2024
  • There was a scramble for the rebound before a jump ball was called, giving the Warhawks the ball back with 17.4 left.
    Andrew Gruman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2018
  • Stephenson forced James into an odd jump ball with 4:47 to go.
    Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2018
  • On first-and-20 from the Minnesota 29, Rivers threw Alie-Cox a jump ball on a corner route.
    Akeem Glaspie, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Sep. 2020
  • Then Morgan threw a jump ball to Johnson in the corner of the end zone for a 2-yard score with 13 seconds left.
    Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 15 Sep. 2019
  • Preston: The Ravens need to find a quality speed threat on the outside who can make the difficult catch in traffic or win a jump ball.
    Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Sims got the start after Robinson’s first injury, then hurt his own ankle on a jump ball and never found a consistent rhythm.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 16 July 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jump ball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: