A day after hinting at his unhappiness at coach Frank Vogel, and with lingering doubts over his future ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, Westbrook watched from the bench.
It is the first game the nine-time All-Star has missed all season, though Vogel could at least still call upon the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis from the beginning.
James scored 30 points for the Lakers, who led 54-47 at half-time, only for the depleted Trail Blazers to slowly turn things around before rallying in the fourth quarter.
Anfernee Simons led the scoring for Portland with 29 points, while Jusuf Nurkic added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the hosts held on to snap a six-game losing streak.
Bogdanovic and Mitchell inspire Jazz to victory
The Golden State Warriors' nine-game winning streak was ended in emphatic style as they fell to a 111-85 defeat to the Utah Jazz.
Without the injured Rudy Gobert for an eighth game, the Jazz were inspired to victory by 23-point Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Warriors, without Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and James Wiseman, finished with a shooting percentage of 36 per cent in what was their heaviest defeat of the season.
DeRozan stars again
Five-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan was serenaded by "MVP!" chants after scoring 36 points in the Chicago Bulls' 121-109 victory over the out-of-form Charlotte Hornets.
DeRozan hit 30 points for a fourth game running, during which time he has averaged 37.5 points, while Nikola Vucevic finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Darius Garland's 27 points on his return from a back injury helped the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-92 win against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-98 for their seventh straight win and the Sacramento Kings were 132-119 victors against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After only scoring six points in the first half, Young had 32 in the second, finishing with 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting (four-of-11 from deep) to go with nine assists.
It was a gutsy comeback from the Hawks, who trailed 28-14 in the first quarter and 49-61 with 30 seconds to play in the first half.
Overall, the Hawks outscored the Cavaliers 56 to 40 in the last two quarters, and after committing seven turnovers in the opening frame, cleaned things up significantly and only committed six more across the next three quarters.
Cleveland's Darius Garland had a difficult shooting night, finishing nine-of-27 from the field for his 21 points, but he showed excellent command of his side throughout, dishing nine assists, snatching three steals and finishing with a plus/minus of plus three in his 43 minutes. This means in the five minutes Garland was sitting on the bench, the Cavs were outscored by eight.
With the win, the Hawks have earned a seven-game series against the top seed of the Eastern Conference – the Miami Heat.
Pelicans survive Clippers comeback
The New Orleans Pelicans survived a massive second-half surge from the Los Angeles Clippers to fight back and win on the road 105-101.
Through the first half, it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the Pelicans as they jumped out to a 56-42 lead with one minute to play in the second quarter.
Los Angeles were without star Paul George after it was announced he had tested positive for coronavirus and had to adhere to health and safety protocols, but they found a second wind to start the third period.
The Clippers started the second half on a 20-to-two run, flipping a 56-46 deficit to a 66-58 lead as Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris started to catch fire.
After being outscored 38-18 in the third term, the Pelicans began the final period trailing 84-74, but it would be their turn to make a run, rallying to tie the game at 88-88 with 7:35 to play.
Brandon Ingram was the star of the show, finishing with 30 points (14-of-21 shooting) with six assists and six rebounds, but the clutch long-range shooting from rookie Trey Murphy III was the catalyst for their surge down the stretch.
Murphy came off the bench and finished with a game-high plus/minus of plus 26 in his 24 minutes, hitting four-of-six threes, including three of them in the last 10 minutes.
Jackson and Morris finished with 27 points each for the Clippers, while the former also added eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
The win means the New Orleans Pelicans will face the Phoenix Suns in a best-of-seven series, beginning on Sunday.
