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James, Irving lead Cavs past Bulls

Jan 20, 2015 - 5:06 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James netted 26 points, Kyrie Irving added 18 points and 12 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Chicago Bulls 108-94 on Monday night.

Timofey Mozgov posted 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Kevin Love returned from a brief one-game absence due to back spasms and poured in 16 points to go with 12 boards for the Cavaliers, who have won three straight on the heels of a six-game losing streak.

"I think this is our best defensive game of the year," Cavs coach David Blatt said. "We adhered to our princinples."

Jimmy Butler supplied 20 points and Derrick Rose had 18 points to lead Chicago, which has dropped six of its last eight games.

"We got to get better ... The way we're playing is not acceptable," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said.

Joakim Noah missed his fourth straight game due to an ankle injury.

The Cavaliers led 24-19 following a quarter of play and Aaron Brooks pulled the Bulls within 28-24 early in the second with a layup. Love then hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer, James drove for a layup following a Mozgov steal and Matthew Dellavedova split a pair of foul shots to up Cleveland's advantage to 34-24.

A 9-1 Cavs spurt later in the second further expanded their margin.

James converted a pair of layups during the swing, including one to cap it and stake Cleveland to a 50-35 cushion with 1:42 to go in the half.

The Cavs took a 54-39 spread into the break and a 10-2 flurry to begin the third increased their advantage to 64-41. Brooks nailed a jumper at the third quarter buzzer to get Chicago within 84-62 after three.

Butler ended a 12-2 Chicago burst with a triple to claw it within 90-78 with 7:40 remaining, but Cleveland ripped off the next seven points to put the game away.

James sandwiched baskets around a J.R. Smith trey to increase the Cavs margin to 97-78 midway through the fourth and they cruised to the easy victory from there.

Game Notes

The Cavs had lost seven of their last eight encounters against the Bulls in Cleveland ... Cleveland held a 54-40 rebounding and 46-30 points in the paint advantage ... Pau Gasol provided 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Taj Gibson recorded 10 points and 10 boards for the Bulls.