Turnovers prove costly as Lakers winning streak snapped by Pistons

The Lakers turned the ball over early and often on Monday as Pistons snap winning streak, sweep season series.

The Lakers were unserious from the start on Monday, finishing with 18 turnovers that the Pistons converted into 28 points en route to a 117-114 loss to Detroit on Monday.

LeBron James notched a triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Anthony Davis ended the game with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Austin Reaves had a rough game offensively with 12 points and seven rebounds, but turned the ball over six times.

Max Christie had 17 points on 6-10 shooting. Cam Reddish and Dalton Knecht had seven points apiece. Rui Hachimura went 3-8 from the field for 10 points. Gabe Vincent hit some timely shots, going 3-5 from behind the arc for nine points.

The Pistons started things off with a pair of free throws by Cade Cunningham. Rui was cooking early for Los Angeles with six quick points, including his usual cut-to-the-basket dunk. LeBron and AD both knocked down a 3-pointer. At the first timeout, LA was up eight.

Gabe knocked down a 3-pointer, adding to his resurgence from behind the arc over the last few games. Former Laker Malik Beasley was feeling it, drilling two threes of his own.

Detroit cut the deficit to within two before LeBron scored on a layup and D’Angelo Russell knocked down a three. The Pistons would not back down and a 3-pointer by Simone Fontecchio at the buzzer put Detroit up two.

The Pistons extended their lead to six to start the second quarter with a 14-0 run. The Lakers missed shots and broke down on defense. With AD getting his usual rest on the bench, LA’s defense took a nosedive.

Dalton Knecht came in and knocked down a 3-pointer, his first make in his last 12 attempts.

Los Angeles turned the ball over quite a lot as they were already up to six. The Pistons’ defense applied a lot of pressure on the Lakers, who added two more turnovers to their total.

The Lakers started heating up offensively again, which turned on their defense. A fastbreak started with Max stealing the ball and passing it to LeBron, who passed it to Cam for a dunk that gave the Lakers the lead.

Beasley scored a quick five points, helping Detroit remain close. At halftime, LA was up by two.

It was a back-and-forth affair with Cade starting things off with an easy dunk. LA led until Cade scored again on a midrange shot and put the Pistons up by one. He was providing a huge spark for Detroit early in the quarter. Both teams exchanged the lead by draining 3-pointers.

Detroit was being pesky all game long, poking the ball away from the Lakers several times. After the game had been tied, Max drained a three to put the Lakers up by three at the first timeout.

The two teams were level again at the six-minute mark. Detroit took the lead by two until Gabe scored another three and put LA up one. It was then a tied game again. Neither team was able to give themselves a big lead.

The Pistons were very physical with the Lakers, forcing them into turnovers. After Detroit distanced themselves with a lead of four, LA came back to make it a one-point game. The Lakers ended the third with terrible defense and headed into the fourth down by one.

The Pistons went back up by four to start the final frame. Beasley was having a major game, showing off in front of his old team. The turnovers hurt the Lakers again, pushing the Pistons lead up to eight. Detroit had all the momentum.

Austin drained a much-needed 3-pointer to chip away at Detroit’s lead. The Pistons were playing a cleaner and better game than LA. They continued to be physical and pushed their lead to double-digits.

With 3:40 left, the Lakers would have to dig deep into the fake comeback archives to see if they could complete one in this game. LA cut the deficit to five on the shoulders of LeBron. It was then a three-point game after LeBron made a layup.

After a timeout, the Pistons missed a three. Anthony Davis was fouled on the ensuing possession with under 30 seconds left, but the Pistons won a challenge on the play and got the ball back.

They used up the clock and Cade had an opportunity to seal the win but missed a three. With 3.7 seconds left, LeBron had a wide-open look for behind the arc...and missed.

The fake comeback was indeed fake.

Key Takeaways:

Credit to the Pistons for causing the Lakers to turn the ball over so much. They were all over LA, forcing them to play sloppily multiple times throughout the game. Either way...STOP THE TURNOVERS!!

Gabe’s continued improvement these last few games has been crucial for this team. He’s providing scoring that they desperately needed.

Leaving the opposing team's shooters wide open from behind the arc will cost you.

The Lakers’ next game will be Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors at 5:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.