There are teams that would crumble without their star player. Their offense would collapse and the defensive pressure would diminish. But losing two marquee players? The game would be over before it even began.

On Wednesday night, the Celtics proved they’re not one of those teams. Criticized for having an unreliable bench, they blew out Orlando in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals missing not one, but two of their stars.

With Kevin Garnett already out of commission, the Celtics were forced to play without Paul Pierce for the majority of the night. Pierce picked up four fouls after banging knees with Hedo Turkoglu. He was on the court for 15 minutes, the least playing time for him since he saw 17 minutes on April 16, 2008 against New Jersey.

His absence was most noticeable on the scoreboard. Pierce finished with just three points.

“We have other great players to step up,” said Brian Scalabrine. “We just rely on our guys to make big plays and our bench players do their job. When Paul goes down we still have the responsibility, we still have our job to do, and you’ve just got to keep doing your job. Guys stepped up, guys made plays, and we kind of played off of that.”

Led by 31 points from Eddie House (11-for-14 from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 on threes), the Celtics outscored the Magic 112-94. The team shared the responsibility on the offensive end -- Ray Allen, who scored nine points in Game 1, contributed 22 points; Kendrick Perkins (6 points, Game 1) hit seven-of-ten for 16 points; and Rajon Rondo recorded his third triple-double of the postseason with 15 points to compliment his 18 assists and 11 rebounds.

“We just were out there playing Celtics basketball,” said Glen Davis (13 points). “It’s hard when we’re moving the ball like we’re moving, it’s hard to defend that. And we went out there and we moved the ball really well.”

One of the biggest keys to success was the Celtics three-guard offense. It was a strategy Doc Rivers had planned on implementing prior to the game and it just so happened to play right into Pierce’s absence.

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“It did the job,” Rivers said. “The one thing we did think is that’s how we were going to go with our substitutions. Steph and Rondo and Ray, and Rondo, Eddie, and Ray because we just thought the movement, especially with Eddie and Ray being able to come off picks and then stretch the floor, would give a chance for those to two to get shots but it also would open the floor for Rondo. So we didn’t clearly think we were going to use it that long, but with Paul in foul trouble we had no choice. So it was a good thing.”

The Celtics have months of experience playing with a hampered offense – they’ve been playing without Garnett’s 16 points per game since February. This team learned very quickly about filling a void and stepping up at the basket.

Take Davis -- he averaged just 4.8 points before the All-Star break as a reserve. He stepped into the starting lineup, and is now averaging more than 17 during the playoffs.

“Yeah, it gets you ready,” Davis said of Garnett’s absence. “When your main scorer’s not in there you’ve got to find other options, other players, and that’s what we did. We moved the ball, Eddie had it going today, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Even the Magic agree that’s what the Celtics are about.

“They just shot the ball very well tonight,” said Orlando’s Dwight Howard. “Paul Pierce didn’t seem like he was effective but everybody else played good, and that’s a championship team. When one player’s not playing as good, everybody else picks it up. And that’s why they’re the defending champions.”