By RICK NOLAND Assistant Sports Editor

CLEVELAND — For one night, anyway, Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and J.J. Hickson made sure the Cavaliers didn’t miss center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

They also made sure the Cavaliers didn’t miss a beat at Quicken Loans Arena, dominating early and often as Cleveland improved to 17-0 at home with an impressive 117-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

“It’s good to have guys step up,” said LeBron James, who recorded his first triple-double of the season and 18th of his career with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, but was largely overshadowed by the performance of Cleveland’s big men.

On a night when it was announced that Ilgauskas would likely miss at least a month with a chip fracture in his left ankle, Varejao went out and obliterated his previous career high of 18 points by pouring in 26 on an assortment of back-doors cuts, offensive rebounds, set shots and free throws.

“I knew I had to be more aggressive tonight because ‘Z’ wasn’t playing,” Varejao said. “That’s all I did. I tried to go to the basket and I got lucky.

“I’m just trying to be active and trying to find the open spots. I know LeBron draws a lot of attention and they are all going to try to double him. I’ve just got to be ready to get the ball and go to the basket because I know he is going to find me.”

Varejao finished 9-of-14 from the field and 8-of-13 at the line while adding eight rebounds and three steals, but he wasn’t the only big man to rise to the occasion in Ilgauskas’ absence.

The almost-always offensively challenged Wallace had eight points in the first period and finished with a season-high 13 to go along with nine rebounds, while rookie Hickson fell one point shy of his career high with 13 points and tied his career high with six boards.

“Every time I get in the game, it’s an opportunity to get better,” Hickson said. “It allows me to get more confidence. There’s no pressure. I just go out there and play my game.”

James took just eight shots and scored six points in his final 25 seconds on the court — he had 41 points in each of two previous games against Chicago this season and had scored at least 30 against the Bulls in seven straight contests — but he made sure all his teammates were involved.

Seven players scored in double figures — Delonte West had 14, while Mo Williams and a pulse-discovering Sasha Pavlovic had 13 each — so it was definitely mission accomplished for James.

The Cavaliers, however, play eight of their next 12 games on the road, so the going is about to get tougher.

“It’s going to be very tough,” James said. “This is going to be a good month for us to see how good we are, especially without ‘Z.’”

The Cavaliers (27-5) weren’t the only team playing shorthanded. Chicago (14-19), an ugly squad under the best of circumstances thanks to the wacky moves of general manager John Paxson, was playing without two starters in center Drew Gooden (sprained ankle) and small forward Luol Deng (sprained ankle).

Throw in horrible shot selection — former Cavalier Larry Hughes was 1-of-9 from the field and point guard Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in the draft, was 1-of-6 — and add sloppy ballhandling and unenthused defense and the Bulls had absolutely no chance in this one, which was capped by teammates Joakim Noah and Andrew Nocioni exchanging words on the court.

“When you’re playing a basketball game and you’re losing by 20 points, you’re frustrated,” a frustrated Noah said. “I don’t have any problems. It’s just the way it is.”

Wallace, Varejao and Hickson combined for 19 points in the first quarter as Cleveland raced to a 32-17 lead and never looked back.

The Bulls did score seven straight points to get within nine in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers came right back with an 8-0 run of their own.

In case there was any doubt about the outcome, the Cavaliers scored the first 11 points of the third period to go up 25, giving their fans the option of heading to the Warehouse District early or staying and watching Varejao add to his point total.

“Andy’s been playing great,” James said. “Every time he gets the opportunity to play extended minutes, he’s been going out and scoring the ball.

“All we need is for Andy to go out and play hard every night and bring his energy. He’s going to get some pretty good numbers because he competes. We just want him to continue to play his game.”

Noland may be reached at rickn@ohio.net or 330-721-4061.