The Cavs lost their offensive rhythm while Ilgauskas was out, but they were sharp moving the ball and destroyed the Bulls, who were again without injured forwards Drew Gooden and Luol Deng.

James was able to draw double teams and find Varejao and Cleveland’s other big men underneath for easy layups. Varejao, Wallace and Hickson combined for 52 points and 23 rebounds, more than making up for the 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds missing with Ilgauskas watching from the bench in street clothes.

“For LeBron to take eight shots and for us to score 117 is just a tribute to LeBron being a special player,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said.

And as has become the norm this season, James made a spectacular defensive play as impressive as any of his dunks. Early in the third quarter, James cut across the lane and perfectly timed his jump to slap a layup by rookie Derek Rose off the backboard glass.

“He’s so athletic,” Rose said with a smile. “I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Cleveland’s big men picked up the slack for Ilgauskas from the outset.

Wallace scored eight of the Cavs’ first 21 points and finished the first quarter with five rebounds. Hickson added six points and Varejao five as the trio combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds in the period as Cleveland opened a 15-point lead it pushed to 25 in the third quarter.

Notes: In four starts, Varejao is averaging 16.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. ... Gooden remained back in Chicago for treatment on an ankle injury that has sidelined him for seven games. Del Negro said Gooden could return for Saturday’s home game against Minnesota. ... Hickson split his lip in the first quarter and needed one stitch to close the cut. ... Cavs F Wally Szczerbiak played six minutes after missing two games with a sore knee. ... The Bulls will play five straight and seven of their next eight at home.

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