Kyrie Irving wasn't in the building on Wednesday, but it didn't matter. The Celtics-Nets matchup still made for an entertaining night at TD Garden.
After plenty of loud "Kyrie sucks" chants, the C's emerged with the 121-110 win in what was a hard-fought game from beginning to end.
Here are three instant overreactions from the victory:
1. Kemba Walker is 100% back.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
On a night where Irving was nowhere to be found, it was his replacement Kemba Walker stepping up for the C's.
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Walker was outstanding in his first game back from a scary neck injury, dropping a game-high 39 points while going 13-of-24 from the field (6-of-9 from 3-point range).
Also encouraging was Walker was great from start to finish. He's struggled mightily out the gate in some games this season, but in this one, he wasted no time making his presence felt with 17 points in the first half.
2. Celtics' 3-point defense needs improvement.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
After letting up an alarming 11 3-pointers to Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield on Monday, the Celtics followed up by letting the Nets hit 21 shots from beyond the arc. Ten of those were made in the second quarter.
Fortunately for Boston, it was able to come out of both games with victories. Still, this isn't exactly something they want to become a trend.
3. Daniel Theis' big night shows C's don't need to make a move for a center.
Verdict: Overreaction
Some believe the Celtics can go through the entire season and playoffs without doing anything to address their lack of a legitimate big man. I don't subscribe to that theory.
Look, Theis was excellent on Wednesday night dropping 14 points and bringing down eight rebounds. But when push comes to shove against bigger, more physical teams in the playoffs, the Celtics are vulnerable.
For now, though, they're doing just fine as they improve to 13-4 on the young season.
Get ready for Celtics-Nets on Friday with Celtics Pregame Live at 11:30 a.m., then Mike & Scal have the call at 12 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston, or you can stream them here through the MyTeams App.