ORLANDO, Fla. -- For the Boston Celtics on Wednesday it was: no star, no problem.

Playing without do-everything All-Star Isaiah Thomas for the first time this season, the Celtics responded with an impressive beat-down of the Orlando Magic 117-87, proving that depth may be one of their strengths after all.

Guard Avery Bradley led the charge with 23 points, but it was seven players in double-figure scoring, seven players with at least two assists and a smothering defense in the second half that overwhelmed the Magic.

Thomas, the team's leading scorer and assist man, missed the game with a strained groin, but the Celtics (13-9) hardly missed him, passing and cutting and setting up each other like the textbook says.

"Sometimes, you have to do it this way," said center Al Horford, who had 10 points, a team-high eight assists and six rebounds. "When we move the ball like that, we're a tough team to play against. We can definitely build on something like this."

The Celtics grabbed the momentum at the start of the second half and never looked back, outscoring the Magic 68-37 in the final two quarters.

Second-year reserve guard Terry Rozier scored a career-high16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Marcus Smart, who started in place of Thomas, had 13 points and hit five of his seven shots, while making two steals. Forward Amir Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Jae Crowder had 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Rookie Jalen Brown had 13 points.

"Isaiah is an All-Star. He's won a lot of games for us," Rozier said. "But when he's not out there, we have to play a little differently. Everyone has to play better. We have to move the ball a little more. And it worked for us tonight."

Guard D.J. Augustin led the Magic with 15 points, but he failed to score in the second half when the Magic (10-13) faded badly. Evan Fournier had 14 points, but only four in the second half. Nikola Vucevic, still playing as a reserve, had 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Elfrid Payton had 10 points.

The Celtics snapped the Magic's three-game winning streak, holding them to just 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Magic led by one point at halftime, but they started the second half poorly and never recovered.

"They were just more aggressive than us in the second half, getting into us, getting into the passing lanes," Fournier said. "We lost our rhythm. It seemed like we never found it in the second half."

The Magic had just finished a five-game road trip Tuesday night in Washington, returning home to play well in the first half, but failed to respond when the Celtics raised the level of their game in the second half.

"You could see we had a presence about us defensively," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "We were locked in our coverages. We were trying to make it as difficult as possible and keep them from getting clean looks at the basket. We had a group out there that was really moving the ball."

The Celtics carried a 85-73 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Magic 36-23 in the third. The Celtics led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter when Bradley scored 11 points.

"Credit Boston for a great second half," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "They had three pit bulls on the perimeter in Avery (Bradley), (Marcus) Smart, and (Jae) Crowder, and those guys really got into us and controlled the game."

The Magic led 50-49 at halftime after Augustin scored 10 points in the final 1:47 of the second period. Augustin led everyone in the first half when he scored 15 points in just 11 minutes. He hit all four of his 3-point attempts before intermission.

The Magic hit their first four 3-pointers of the game when they opened an eight-point lead. The Celtics grabbed their first lead, 28-27, when rookie Brown dunked to open the second quarter.

The Celtics made a 10-0 run midway in the second quarter for the 44-40 lead, their largest of the first half. Bradley had 12 points in the first two quarters. The Celtics made only two of 15 3-pointers before intermission, while the Magic made eight of their 10.

NOTES: Celtics leading scorer G Isaiah Thomas (26 ppg, 6.1 apg) missed the game Wednesday because of a groin strain sustained Monday night at Houston. Thomas left the team and returned to Boston on Tuesday. The Celtics quickly summoned rookie G Demetrius Jackson, who was preparing for a D-League game with the Maine Red Claws. "It's like coming back to your family," Jackson said Wednesday after rejoining the Celtics. G Marcus Smart started in Thomas' place. ... This was the second contest in a four-games-in-five-nights stretch for the Magic, but the only time they will have that kind of schedule this season. "It's a mental thing, but you can't let the fatigue get in, and you still have to do your job and focus on the defensive end," G Evan Fournier said. ... Despite the losing record, the Magic are becoming one of the NBA's better defensive teams. They entered Wednesday's game ranked third in blocked shots (5.73 per game) and fourth in points allowed (98 ppg). ... The Magic were thrilled to hear that rookie C Stephen Zimmerman grabbed a franchise record 24 rebounds earlier in the day for their D-League team, the Erie Bay Hawks.