Lakers can’t keep up with Thunder

Among the highlights of Kobe Bryant’s interview in the Lakers’ 103-92 loss Thursday to Oklahoma City

• On why the Thunder’s energy was better than the Lakers: “Because they’re younger and have more than we do.”
• If Lakers can beat Thunder: “Absolutely. We just have to execute and slow the game down. They got a great deal of fast break points, a lot of offensive rebounds and 50-50 balls. We have to eliminate those.”
• On Russell Westbrook: “Russell Westbrook established the tempo in the third quarter and changed the pace of the game.”
• On Oklahoma City: “Playing against these teams are exciting because you get to measure yourself and see where you’re at. We got Miami and passed the test. This one, we failed.”
• On how Lakers used to be team opponents used as measuring stick: “Times changed. We were in a position a few years back where we had to struggle, fight and claw for those positions, got to the playoffs and won the playoffs. Last year, we played Dallas and beat them every time in the regular season. It’s all about how teams improve in the regular season.”

Among the highlights of Andrew Bynum’s interview in the Lakers’ loss to Oklahoma City

• On the Lakers’ second half: “They turned it up. We didn’t. So we lost.”
• On Thunder: “If you’re asking me are they better than us? No. We can definitely win.”
• On his performance: “I got to play.”
• On team’s poor defense: “We started to score more and we took a bite out of the forbidden fruit and abandoned some principles. We have to get back to it.”