Final Score: Turnovers doom Cavs in 96-88 loss to Pistons

When the Cleveland Cavaliers go back and look at the tape of Monday night's game against the Detroit Pistons, the main reasons for their loss should be clear.

In their 96-88 loss at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs turned the ball over 18 times. Cleveland also went cold from the field after the first quarter. In the first 12 minutes, the Cavs made 12 of their 20 shots. Over the final 36 minutes, Cleveland made just 15-47 shots.

The Cavs had several chances in the second half to get back in the game. At the end of the third quarter, Cleveland held the Pistons scoreless over the final 4:56 and cut Detroit's lead back down to seven. The Pistons, though, came out of the gate pressing to start the fourth quarter. The Cavs again got the lead under single digits when LeBron James made a layup with 4:05 to play, but the Pistons couldn't string any consistent possessions together in order to cut more in Detroit's lead.

Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 30 points to go along with five assists while Kevin Love added 24 points to go along with seven rebounds. LeBron scored 12 points on 5-18 shooting. His 12-points tied a season low and he also had a game-high six turnovers. Channing Frye, in his first game with the Cavs, scored two points and pulled down five rebounds in nine minutes.

The Cavs next play on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. in Clevleand.