Do not, however, expect them to go gently into that dark night. Karl Malone, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and the rest may exit, but they will exit fighting.

``Even if you're playing in a pickup basketball game, you don't like to lose,'' Malone recently told the Deseret News. ``Winning is important. I've been doing this for 16 years, and losing still leaves kind of a crappy taste in your mouth. I love to win. ...

``I hate losing,'' the Jazz power forward said, ``because I hate giving people the satisfaction of the doubt.''

Experts have been predicting the team's decline for years -- about two-thirds of the way through its 18 consecutive postseason appearances, actually.

Now, as Utah struggled to beat quality teams, those experts had evidence. That was even more galling.

``Everybody's got a solution on how Karl Malone should play and how John Stockton should play,'' Malone said. ``But I think the most important thing is, we've done it a helluva lot longer than a lot of people -- the so-called experts. So we're just going to work through this tough situation, and not really start pointing fingers.''

Coach Jerry Sloan recently expressed frustration with his players' tactics, alleging selfishness and a reluctance to stick to the basics of pushing the ball inside and playing aggressive defense. Malone and Stockton seemed immune to those criticisms but, hey, they're part of things, too.

``You win or lose as a team,'' is how Malone put it. ``Right now, we're losing as a team. It's not an individual thing at all. It's a team thing.''

If nothing else, the Jazz's struggles have given them an opportunity to fine-tune the ol' us vs. them approach. No one gives them a chance, everyone says they're too old, and so on.

``Going through tough times ... you just keep playing,'' Malone told the newspaper. ``That's all you've got to do. Keep working hard, and basically that's it.''

Personnel File

KG AND MALONE BOOTED: Karl Malone and Wolves forward Kevin Garnett were ejected within a minute of each other during the third quarter of the Timberwolves' 107-100 victory over the Jazz on Sunday in a game that included six technical fouls.

"That was the NBA at its best -- fan-tastic," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

Malone and Garnett were given technicals for getting rough under the basket with 7:52 remaining in the third period. Malone, who scored 14 points, was ejected for the second time this season after arguing with official Joey Crawford.

RUSSELL BACK AS STARTER: Sloan's first attempt to return some spark to Bryon Russell's game was to flip-flop him back into the starting lineup for John Starks (Starks benefited from the move). His second idea was to force-feed Russell playing time and the two-pronged approach seems to be working. Russell has averaged more than 40 minutes nightly in the Jazz's last three games, while scoring about 13 points and hauling in five rebounds.

Said Sloan: ``We have got to have Bryon Russell playing well. He's been struggling a little bit. But I can live with that -- he's got to play."

Russell's defense picked up in the three games, too, as Doug Christie, Michael Finley, Cuttino Mobley scored a total of 32 points.

ROSTER MOVES: Utah activated forward David Benoit (strained deltoid muscle) and opened a roster spot by moving guard Quincy Lewis (knee tendinitis) on the injured list.

Noteworthy

THEY LIKE 'EM: The Jazz's most recently defeated foes spoke highly of the club and its postseason prospects. Houston guard Steve Francis, noting Utah's comfort factor at the Delta Center, said: ``If they play here, they won't lose. I guarantee that. It doesn't make any difference if they play San Antonio, L.A., Dallas. They won't lose here.''

Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich joined the club, too, despite Utah's rocky record at home against playoff teams this season. Said the Rockets' coach of Malone and Stockton: ``I just love those guys. Consistent winners, durable, big plays over the years. Those trophies we have sitting in our owner's office mean so much more because we had to go through Utah. I respect the heck out of those guys. ... I would love to see them [win] it.''

WORK IT INSIDE: Sloan hasn't liked his players' bad habit of jacking up outside shots.

``We've gotten into a situation where we've got to prove that we can shoot outside shots. And it's not just one person. ... We're playing some selfish basketball.''

REMEMBER HIM: Sloan got ejected in the fourth quarter of Utah's loss against the Lakers in what seemed like a glimmer of old times.

``I went through about six weeks where I watched the game a great deal, didn't get too involved. I didn't say anything,'' he said. ''I've always been concerned about my team, but I don't care how ... people judge me. I have to be responsible to one guy, and that's Jazz owner Larry Miller. That's the only person I'm concerned with.''