"That's what he said? Classless?" - Karl-Anthony Towns' response to Stephen A. Smith amid feud with Russell Westbrook, mocks his rock-a-baby celebration

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves mercilessly mocked and trash-talked LA Lakers star Russell Westbrook when the two teams met on March 16th at the Target Center. The T'Wolves players' actions were deemed "classless" by ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith.

Towns did not hold back and defended his case by calling out Westbrook's 'rock the baby' celebration that he has used to mock opposition players over the years. Here's what the Timberwolves big man said about it on his recent live stream (via Lakers Daily):

"Now when we have a little fun with the game, now we being classless. Right? that's what he said? Classless? It's cool though, I understand. It was cool though when people was doing this (imitates Westbrook's rock the baby celebration) in people's face right? It was cool, right? Alright, things came back to bite."

The Minnesota Timberwolves blew the LA Lakers away 124-104 in that contest. With a 41-30 record, Karl-Anthony Towns and Co. are legitimate contenders to earn a top-six finish to make their second playoff appearance in four years. The Timberwolves have had a more aggressive approach to their playing style since acquiring veteran Patrick Beverley.

As a matter of fact, Beverley was also trying to get under the skins of Russell Westbrook and Co. when his side took on the LA Lakers.

Russell Westbrook and LA Lakers could go head-to-head against Karl-Anthony Towns' Minnesota Timberwolves

Russell Westbrook in action during Los Angeles Lakers v Minnesota Timberwolves

As things stand in the Western Conference points table, the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Lakers may have to go through the play-in tournament to advance to the playoffs this season. The T'Wolves are seeded seventh in the standings, while the Lakers are ninth.

Minnesota will have the cushion to play a second game if they lose their first match of the play-in tournament. If the Lakers manage to win the 9th v 10th seeding game, they will have the opportunity to take on Karl-Anthony Towns and Co., and the winner of that match will finish as the eighth seed.

It will be an enticing game to look forward to, especially now, because of how tense the game was between the two teams on March 16th. Russell Westbrook would be keen to level the scores with Towns and Patrick Beverley for their trash-talk, which could make the game even more competitive than expected because of the high stakes.