Why was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander smiling after loss? Thunder star explains reason for viral reaction

The Thunder lost another winnable game Friday night and now trail 2-1 in the series to the Nuggets.

Some felt the Eastern Conference was somewhat open, but that the Western Conference was OKC's to take. They now face a difficult situation, still having to find a road win to have a shot at winning the series.

Despite losing a game that the Thunder could have had to put them back in the driver's seat of this series, fans on social media noticed that as Shai walked off the court, he was all smiles.

SGA smiling after the loss pic.twitter.com/oSaN29wIe9

When asked about it after the game, Shai said the reason he was smiling was that fans were "taunting" him.

"I don't ever want to show them that I'm defeated or mad," he said. "Nothing's written, the series is not over and we have a lot to be optimistic about."

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Should the Thunder be confident?

There has long been doubt about high-seeded teams with minimal playoff experience. People tend to believe that the teams who have been there before can often execute better.

We are sort of seeing this at the moment, and the first round of the playoffs this year was a great example when the Warriors knocked out the Rockets in seven games despite being the No. 7 seed.

The Nuggets are just two years off a championship and still have many of their core pieces, including Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

Is it time to hit the panic button already for OKC? Probably not, but a 2-1 deficit while still having to play Game 4 in Denver is a big challenge ahead for a Thunder team that has a target on their backs. 

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