After stumbling to a rough start to the season, the Brooklyn Nets are looking very much like a championship contender these days. Many experts have tagged them as the heavy favorite to take home the trophy. But of course, the (unvaccinated) elephant in the room remains to be Kyrie Irving.

With the way things are going, Irving's status is still as clear as the water in a public toilet. But it's clear that the Nets are doing fine without him. Or as the great Larry David would say, pretty, pretty, pretty good!

After the Nets rallied to beat the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, 102-99, James Harden said they're not too worried about closing out games (via ESPN).

“We've been in this league long enough to know it's winning time. It's go time. Throughout the course of the game, I feel like we got good shots. We just missed them. We just kept sticking with it and kept sticking with it. You've got to just keep shooting, especially if that's what you do.”

Kevin Durant echoed Harden's remarks, perhaps unconsciously underscoring the fact that the Nets don't necessarily need Irving in clutch situations.

“It's a character win where you just want to make the right plays to get back in the game and you want to turn the momentum to your side. I think we did that tonight.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)

Durant had 24 points and seven rebounds while Harden had 23 markers and 12 assists to help the Nets improve to 17-7 and avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season.

You hear that, Kyrie Irving?