Possession (sports) determined by several methods, including a coin flip (American football and cricket), home team status (baseball), or by giving the teams an equal opportunity to physically take possession; this may be called a dropped-ball (association football), a ball-up (Australian rules football), a jump ball (basketball), or a face-off (hockey). In some timed sports, the team with possession may try to "run time off the clock" by keeping the ball and not attempting to score, in order to deny the opposing team possession. A shot clock speeds gameplay by requiring teams to attempt to score within a certain period of time
Running up the score clock, there is no reason not to score more points if the situation allows. As all teams are professionals, even perceived underdogs have the potential to score points quickly if they are given the chance. Even teams with a dominant lead have a strong interest in maintaining possession to run down the clock, which often puts them in the position to score more points. At all levels of play, it is generally accepted that players or teams close to breaking significant records can run up the score without it being seen as overtly disrespectful. In fact, many offensive records almost