Warriors show Nets what a true championship team looks like

 The Brooklyn Nets got a wake-up call on Tuesday night in their 117-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Steph Curry's 37 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists  outdueled Kevin Durant's 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while James Harden led the Nets in scoring with 24.

Curry and company blew the doors off Brooklyn by outscoring them 35-18 in the third quarter and made the fourth quarter a mere formality.

The Nets sorely missed the scoring punch that Kyrie Irving would have brought to this marquee regular season matchup, but are coming to grips with the fact they'll have a long way to go before calling themselves true contenders.

The Nets are winless against the NBA's most formidable clubs, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Miami, and now Golden State.

Steve Nash understands that Kyrie Irving won't be walking through the doors at Barclays Center anytime soon, so if the Nets are looking for answers, they can't wait for outside help, but merely get their own house in order.

Curry pulled ahead of Durant in the early MVP race and the Warriors left Brooklyn in the dust in what many anticipated could be an NBA Finals preview.

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Nets climb league rankings by refusing to wait for Irving to walk through the doors

Kevin Durant has been otherworldly and James Harden has created scoring plays for others, but the play of Brooklyn's new additions has as much to do with the team's current three game winning streak as anything.

LaMarcus Aldridge is automatic from the mid-range, Patty Mills is finding his long range touch as the former Spurs duo in impressing in early season action. The Nets roster is littered with All-Stars, but these are no one trick ponies. Mills brings defense on the perimeter along with Jevon Carter, while Aldridge and Paul Millsap hold down the paint and clean the glass.

Even without Kyrie Irving, the Nets are actually a more well rounded team than last year, even though defense and rebounding are continuously areas where they can and need to improve in.

As for Harden, he has not been his attack dog self as he spent the majority of the off-season rehabbing his hamstring with little live game action or practice under his belt to this point.

Harden can no longer benefit from touch fouls on the perimeter that he once turned into trips at the line with flailing shooting motions and rip moves. Nonetheless, Harden's lack of free throws attempts and scarcity of points in the paint are more a product of a player looking to regain his pre injury explosiveness and get into game shape than the impact the new rules have on his mindset.

The Nets are showing once again they're a force to be reckoned with whether Irving is in the picture or not.

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