ESPN's Stephen A. Smith had a great reaction to being smacked on his behind by Markieff Morris in bizarre incident

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May 15, 2017 6:57 PM

Markieff Morris said he couldn't do anything more without hurting Stephen A. Smith.

The Washington Wizards forced a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals when John Wall hit the game-winner in Game 6.

While the shot was huge, the other notable moment came after the game when Markieff Morris slapped the backside of ESPN's Stephen A. Smith leaving many to wonder if it was done out of playfulness or out of anger in reaction to criticism from Smith.

Here is the smack:

On Monday, during Smith's "First Take," he was asked about the smack. While he admits there was probably some animosity behind the move, he seemed to take it well, saying "It hurt like hell, but I understand."

"Look, what you all want me to say?" Smith said. "Listen, I talked smack about him, having given it to him about Paul Millsap in the first round. The second round against Boston he has been inconsistent. They won a big game and he screamed at me, 'Don't desert us, Stephen A.! Step up! C'mon man! Don't desert us now.' And then he slapped me on the backside. It hurt like hell! But I understand."

As for Morris, he said he smacked the face of ESPN on the heiny because that is all he could do.

"That's the only thing you can do other than hit him," Morris said, via CSN Mid-Atlantic. "I would get in trouble for hitting him or doing anything. That's the only thing I can really do without hurting him. I know a lot of people probably wouldn't mind [if I hurt him], but my paycheck would have minded."

Here are Smith's comments from "First Take":

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