Chicago beat Cleveland 113-98 on Thursday, opening the gap between the two teams atop the NBA Central Division and handing the Cavaliers only their second loss in 16 games.
Derrick Rose scored 30 points, while Pau Gasol added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who moved one-and-a-half games above the Cavs and sent a strong signal that their recent struggles might be behind them.
They go into the All-Star break on a run of four straight wins after having lost 10 of 15.
Chicago led most of the way against the NBA's hottest team and pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Both teams were missing key players, with Chicago's Jimmy Butler nursing a strained right shoulder and Cleveland's Kevin Love out with an abrasion in his right eye.
Rose was aggressive from the start, going right at the rim, and finished two points shy of his season high.
Gasol posted his 14th straight double-double, the longest streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan's 15-game run in 1988-89.
LeBron James had 31 points for Cleveland, but with Love sidelined, he had little help.
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