This playoff series between the Jazz and Kings is evolving into a passing of the torch, a postseason handoff from one small-market wonder to another.
   
That ongoing exchange, an ugly process, continued most recently Saturday at the Delta Center, where Sacramento gave Utah the back of its hand, winning 90-87, before extending a grubby, greedy open palm that now holds two wins in a best-of-five first-round series. The Kings go for the closeout in Game 4 tonight.
   
Obviously, the Jazz are willing to bend to destiny's demands, by way of the Kings, only because they must. They have fought fiercely and valiantly, though unevenly, in a series nearly nobody thought they could win. When John Stockton chopped Peja Stojakovic in frustration, heading for the bench with his sixth foul in Game 3, with 25 seconds -- and the balance of the outcome -- remaining, symbolism hung thick there for those with eyes to see.