Anyone who knows the Jazz, who knows John Stockton and Karl Malone, who knows the tenacity of coach Jerry Sloan and who knows the franchise -- how ever early it has exited from the playoffs before -- shouldn't be surprised that Utah fought to the bitter end Monday night against Sacramento.

Against all odds -- how often have we heard that and surely will hear frequently in the coming few rebuilding seasons -- the Jazz forced the league's best team nearly to the wire before the Kings snatched the series away with a 91-86 victory at the Delta Center.

Funny how this game works, but that's where the whole NBA world figured this best-of-five series would end, unless it was in a 3-0 Kings sweep. You know . . . No. 1 seed vs. the No. 8 seed. It would have been understandable.