quot;When you think you are doing a terrific job on him, wait until you play him the next time,quot; Sloan said. quot;He's a veteran player that knows how to kill you.quot;

To a man, the Jazz said they expect Bryant to rebound with a vengeance in today's fourth game of the first-round series at EnergySolutions Arena, which is why nobody was gloating over the fact that Bryan was 1-for-10 in the first half and held to 18 points.

quot;He took 24 shots,quot; Brewer said. quot;It was not like he was passing [a lot because he was stopped]. He just missed some tough shots, shots he makes. I think he is going to be more aggressive and continue to shoot the ball. But our defense is not going to change. We are going to continue to play great defense.quot;

After Bryant went 9-for-17 in the first game and 8-for-17 in the second game, Brewer said it is just a matter of time before the superstar gets hot.

quot;You expect them as a team to play a lot better,quot; Brewer said. quot;You don't expect in the playoffs, after they lost, for them to come out and be flat because if we go 2-2, it is a whole different series. They know how important it is to go up 3-1 and go back to L.A.quot;

C.J. Miles also spent some time guarding Bryant on Thursday night, with positive results. And Brewer was quick to point out that the Jazz's inside players rotated over and cut off driving lanes that forced Bryant to pass.

quot;He wasn't getting open lanes to the basket for dunks,quot; Brewer said. quot;He was taking tough shots, fadeaways and stuff.quot;

Although he has won just one playoff game in Salt Lake City, Bryant said before Game 3 that he enjoys the atmosphere at ESA. But it didn't look like he was enjoying it Thursday.

quot;It is just a challenge, being in a tough atmosphere where everyone is pulling against you,quot; he said. quot;It's relaxing. It's fun. You know, the more they boo me, the more they heckle me, the more they relax me and the more I play better. You would think they would know that by now.quot;

The Jazz's Andrei Kirilenko, who has guarded Bryant a lot through the years in both regular-season games and playoff affairs, said there is no formula for stopping Bryant, and the Jazz would be foolish to think they have found one.

quot;There are no tips here, believe me,quot; he said. quot;All you can do is stay between him and the basket, try to resist as much as possible. . . . If he starts making shots, there is not much you can do, because he will start making crazy shots.quot;

drew@sltrib.com Kobe Bryant in 2009 series vs. Jazz

Game*FGs*FTs*Total Points

Game 1*9-17*6-7*24

Game 2*8-17*9-10*26

Game 3*5-24*7-8*18

Totals*22-58*22-25*68