The Utah Jazz are for real and the dominating win over the Indiana Pacers proves it

The Utah Jazz are back, baby. The Salt Lake City Crew knocked off the Indian Pacers on Monday night, with a final score of 132-105 in favor of the good guys. The Pacers' win is a big deal, as it's not only a good quality win, by a lot, it was a good quality win, by a lot, over an Eastern Conference playoff team. The Pacers are 23-17 on the season and a team on the rise.

While the Jazz once again caught a break thanks to Pacers' star Tyrese Haliburton missing the game, it's hard to say that he would've helped that much. He's a very good player and is one of the best passers in the league, but even he can only do so much. He's a good offensive player and a solid defensive one, but the Jazz were not going to be denied.

Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen had 30 and 32-point games respectively, while Kris Dunn and Walker Kessler swallowed up so many Pacer possessions. Dunn was a force on defense, while Kessler snagged five blocks on the night. It's hard to imagine that Haliburton could've slowed down this offense on his own, or gotten much better results on defense.

Sadly, the Jazz's run is overshadowed by the fact that some of their wins have come against teams with missing stars. That has caused some trepidation for this current run of wins, but even Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle sees the truth with the Jazz.

Speaking to the media before the game, Pacers' head coach Carlisle put over the Jazz, saying (viaKSL.com)

"They are playing their tough guys. They're just playing at a higher level of force. I know they went through a period where (Lauri) Markkanen was out — that's tough — but he's back now and they've got the best record since Christmas.

"....Those guys are very good. They're playing 10 guys, so there's always energy in the game. The recent record is no fluke."

It's hard to argue with an NBA Championship-caliber head coach in Carlisle. The best record in the NBA since Christmas is also something that should resonate with the Jazz's most faithful. This is not a club that is "fluking" its way back into the playoff picture. They've found their chemistry and fans can see that first hand.

The Jazz have won six-straight, and have a 15-4 record in 19 games. Believe the hype.