Cavs set season high with 27 turnovers in 90-86 loss to Milwaukee Bucks

Kyrie Irving leans in on the Bucks' Brandon Jennings in the second quarter Friday in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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CLEVELAND: The Cavaliers had a season-high 27 turnovers, while their two best players both struggled and temporarily left the game with injuries in a 90-86 loss Friday to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kyrie Irving had 26 points and Anderson Varejao grabbed 18 rebounds, but both players combined to shoot 13 of 32 from the floor and totaled nine turnovers.

Irving was in great pain in the first quarter when his face bounced off the court on a drive to the basket. He was attended to by trainer Max Benton but never left the game. He shot just 9 of 23 and had six turnovers – one shy of his season high.

Varejao left the game late in the second quarter when he appeared to roll his left ankle. X-rays were negative and he returned shortly after the start of the third quarter, but he finished with eight points on 4 of 9 shooting.

Sloppy ball handling and frigid shooting put the Cavs in an early 16-point deficit. They eventually dug out long enough to take a 61-58 lead on a C.J. Miles 3-pointer with 5:22 left in the third quarter, but they couldn’t hold it. A basket by Tristan Thompson that tied the game at 63 was overturned and ruled a shot clock violation, and within two minutes, a tie game became a 10-point deficit. The Cavs never recovered.

Miles had 17 points and Daniel Gibson had 11 points off the bench for the Cavs. Tristan Thompson had nine rebounds.

Monta Ellis finished with a season-high 33 points and Brandon Jennings had 16 for the Bucks, who have won nine straight over the Cavs.