CLEVELAND — There was a lot of holiday cheer Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Off the court, owner Dan Gilbert was celebrating the apparent passage of Issue 3, which will allow him to build a casino in downtown Cleveland.

On the floor, Shaquille O’Neal was a dominating force as the Cavaliers overcame an early 18-point deficit and routed the Washington Wizards 102-90.

In what was easily his best performance as a Cavalier, O’Neal scored a season-high 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 at the line. He added eight rebounds, three assists and a block in 29 minutes.

“It’s like Christmas,” Cleveland coach Mike Brown said of having the 7-foot-1, 325-pounder inside.

When the Wizards double-teamed him, O’Neal either found cutters for easy baskets or kicked the ball out as the Cavaliers scored 85 points over the final three periods.

When he was played straight up, O’Neal dominated, scoring on a variety of spin moves, drop steps and baby hooks.

Asked if he felt disrespected when he wasn’t double-teamed, the 37-year-old said, “Totally.”

Asked if he felt like he should always score in that situation, O’Neal said, “Yes. I’ve got to. If not, get rid of me.”

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, with Mo Williams finishing with 14 points, four boards and five assists.

Daniel Gibson was superb off the bench, putting up 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc and playing awesome defense on Gilbert Arenas, who began the night averaging 28 points. Arenas had 22 points, but just eight came in the second half, when he was 2-of-8 from the field.

The Cavaliers also got 10 points and 10 boards from Anderson Varejao, but on this night everything started —and often ended — inside with O’Neal.

“I have to let them know I’m still here,” the center said. “I’m still a force to be reckoned with.”

After falling behind 31-17 after one — Cleveland missed 10 of its last 11 shots — and 37-19 early in the second, the Cavaliers went to several small lineups and got within 54-50 at intermission.

Cleveland then turned to O’Neal in the third period and the Wizards, who had just 36 points in the second half and only 16 field goals (in 49 attempts) over the final three quarters, had no answer.

“When we kind of stalled out, we just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to throw it into the Big Fella,” Brown said. “It’s great to toss that bad boy down there and say, ‘Hey, get us something.’”

O’Neal, who shot 60 percent from the field last season, did just that.

“He’s a high-percentage scorer,” Brown said. “You know you’re going to get a high-percentage look almost every time down the floor.”

That wasn’t the case for the Wizards, who were playing without All-Star power forward Antawn Jamison (shoulder). Arenas and Caron Butler (22 points) combined for 23 points in the first period, but they were 6-of-22 from the field after that. Butler had nine points after the first quarter, Arenas 12.

The only other Washington player to reach double figures in the scoring column was Mike Miller, who had 12 points but went just 2-of-3 from the field.

“We just played with a sense of urgency,” James said.

Cavaliers guard Delonte West played for the second straight game, but had to be removed late in the third quarter when his emotions got the best of him.

West drove to the hoop and appeared to draw contact, but no call was made. He complained to the officials for three possessions before finally going out of his way to foul Miller on a jump shot. When West continued to voice his displeasure over the earlier no-call, Brown finally removed him after just a four-minute stint. West didn’t return in the fourth quarter.

Anthony Parker, who is starting in front of West at shooting guard, had five points on 2-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Next up

• Who: Cleveland vs. Chicago
• When: Thursday, 8 p.m.
• Where: Quicken Loans Arena
• TV/radio: TNT; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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