Ahead of Monday’s matchup in Cleveland, the Cavaliers had a simple defensive objective against the Chicago Bulls: Try to contain Coby White.

Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff acknowledged White has risen to draw similar defensive attention as stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who only narrowly lead in scoring and assist margins.

When it came to a game plan, Bickerstaff laid it out simply.

“Keep him in front of you as much as you possibly can,” Bickerstaff said. “Keep him out of the painted area. Don’t allow his speed to get behind you. Obviously he’s a capable shot maker but when he becomes really disruptive is when he gets to the paint and now everybody’s an option for him because he’s an unselfish player. He’s willing to share the ball and share the game.”

This is a learning experience for White, who is commanding newfound respect throughout the league midway through a breakout season as the Bulls’ starting point guard. Defenses are no longer surprised by his shot selection or ball movement. He gets the best — or second-best — defender on the court. And on a rocky night like Monday, White is tasked with lifting and leading the Bulls offense.

White struggled in Cleveland, coughing the ball up for seven turnovers despite leading the offense in points (18). But coach Billy Donovan isn’t concerned about the blip in the guard’s season.

“I think he was obviously trying to take it upon himself to step up,” Donovan said. “He’s got that kind of will and competitiveness. This is a really good learning experience for Coby because he’s been so elite and so great and this is one of those games where he was just trying to grind, he was competing like crazy … but some of those plays didn’t work out. It’s something he can learn from.”

White’s struggles to protect the ball extended to the entire team. The Bulls gave up 18 points on 18 turnovers in the 109-91 loss, their third-highest tally of the season. With the loss, the Bulls have now slipped back to four games below .500.

Here are four other takeaways from the game.

1. Bulls allow a 40-point first quarter.

A sluggish start dug the Bulls into a hole within the opening six minutes of play. The Cavaliers scored 40 points in the first quarter, going 8-for-14 from behind the arc. The Bulls opened the game struggling to shoot the ball, going only 4-for-18 from 3-point range in the entire first half. But it was their defense that failed to slow the Cavaliers, particularly Donovan Mitchell, who tallied 17 points in the first half and 34 on the night.

The Cavaliers were fresh off an international flight following their game against the Brooklyn Nets in Paris, giving the Bulls few excuses for being the more sluggish team out of the opening whistle.

2. Second-chance points fuel the Cavaliers offense.

Throughout the first half, the Cavaliers built their lead on one key part of their game: second-chance points.

The Cavaliers scored 19 second-chance points off eight offensive rebounds in the first half while the Bulls scored only four second-chance points of their own. Jarrett Allen snagged four offensive boards — more than the entire Bulls roster — on his own in the half. Those points made up nearly a third (31.7%) of the Cavaliers’ total offense in the first half.

Donovan had emphasized offensive rebounds as a key focus entering the game after the Cavaliers dominated the boards in their last meeting. But that preparation did not improve the results for the Bulls, who gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the loss.

3. Dual big-man lineup feeds third-quarter comeback.

Centers Andre Drummond and Nikola Vučević rarely play on the court at the same time. But with the Bulls folding under the pressure of the Cavaliers on the offensive boards, Donovan switched up his typical rotations to run with a two-big lineup for the final 6:09 of the third quarter.

The Bulls went on a 21-3 run with the big pair on the court together, registering a +18 net rating in that span to cut the lead down to three points entering the final frame. Drummond and Vučević were able to neutralize the threat of second-chance points off the boards, limiting the Cavaliers to a single offensive rebound in the final six minutes of the quarter.

4. Turnovers at the heart of fourth-quarter collapse.

Despite their third-quarter surge, the Bulls deflated the moment they switched back into their lineup, scoring only 14 points in the fourth quarter.

They took a brief one-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but that was followed by a Cavaliers 11-0 run fueled by miscues. The Bulls coughed up eight turnovers in the fourth quarter, including three by White. The Cavaliers scored 13 points off those mistakes to reclaim the lead and sail to the whistle.

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