diff --git a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Result.java b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Result.java
index 138432aada32..1ef1633d193e 100644
--- a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Result.java
+++ b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/client/Result.java
@@ -913,19 +913,16 @@ public CellScanner cellScanner() {
 
   @Override
   public Cell current() {
-    if (isEmpty()
+    if (cells == null
             || cellScannerIndex == INITIAL_CELLSCANNER_INDEX
-            || cellScannerIndex >= cells.length) {
+            || cellScannerIndex >= cells.length)
       return null;
-    }
     return this.cells[cellScannerIndex];
   }
 
   @Override
   public boolean advance() {
-    if (isEmpty()) {
-      return false;
-    }
+    if (cells == null) return false;
     cellScannerIndex++;
     if (cellScannerIndex < this.cells.length) {
       return true;