The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers both were slow out the gate on Wednesday night, but they ended up putting on a show.
It was the Clippers coming away with the victory in an overtime thriller, 107-104. Jayson Tatum starred for the C's and drilled a clutch 3-pointer to force OT, though Boston just couldn't finish the job as a poor shooting night ultimately cost them.
Here are three instant overreactions from the Celtics' loss, which brings them to 11-3 on the season.
1. Kemba Walker needs to get going in the first half.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Walker has been excellent to begin his Celtics career, but slow starts have been an issue. That was the case again in Wednesday's contest as in the first half he was just 1-of-7 from the field with three points.
Boston Celtics
Usually, Walker's huge fourth quarters make up for his first-half woes. This time, it didn't get much better for him as he finished with 13 points (4-for-17 shooting) and six turnovers, including a critical one with 20 seconds remaining in the fourth.
Don't panic about Walker or anything. It'd just be nice to see more dominant performances from start to finish out of the C's star guard.
2. Brad Wanamaker is the real deal off the bench.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Wanamaker has come up big off the bench for the Celtics so far this season, and Wednesday's win marked his most impressive performance yet.
The second-year pro out of Pittsburgh finished with 14 points, trailing only Jayson Tatum (30) and Marcus Smart (15) in scoring for Boston. He also added five rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 27 minutes.
NBC Sports Boston's own A. Sherrod Blakely saw Wanamaker's big night coming:
3. Time to worry about 3-point shooting woes.
Verdict: Overreaction
The Celtics went a putrid 1-for-18 from 3 during the first half with the aforementioned Wanamaker being the only C's player to drill one from beyond the arc.
They finished 12-for-45. Definitely not ideal, but bouncing back to hit a few clutch shots after that abysmal first half was encouraging. Just take this one by Jayson Tatum for example:
Shooters shoot, and plenty of big shooting nights lie ahead for this 3-point heavy Celtics squad. Plus, the fact they were even in this game with such a horrendous offensive night speaks volumes.
Next up for the Celtics is a matchup vs. the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Don’t miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Nuggets, which tips off Friday at 8 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, then Mike & Scal have the call of the game at 9 p.m. You can also stream the game through the MyTeams App.