With two minutes and 52 seconds left in the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan decided to ring the changes, including replacing Torrey Craig with Estonia's Henri Drell.

It was a big moment for Drell, who up to now has been biding his time and turning in some solid performances with Chicago's G-League affiliate the Windy City Bulls. Drell became only the second Estonian to ever play in the NBA, following in the footsteps of Martin Müürsepp, who turned out in ten games for the Miami Heat in ten games and made 73 appearances for the Dallas Mavericks between 1996 and 1998.

Drell started well, with an effective pass in front of the home crowd, before launching a three-point attempt from range which failed to bear fruit. On Chicago's next attack, the Estonian made an assist, before finally scoring his first NBA career basket with 45 seconds left on the clock.

Henri Drell's first career NBA points! pic.twitter.com/Q8q15ZhVJ6

— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) March 15, 2024

Playing at home, the Bulls fell behind the Clippers in the first quarter, with the visitors extending their lead to 16 points midway through the second quarter. Chicago managed to reduce the deficit to nine points by halftime, but in the third quarter, LA stormed into a 20-point lead. While the Bulls came back again clawing the game to within eight points at one stage, in the fourth, the Clippers proved too strong.

The Bulls' bench, led by Drell, finished the game strongly, but it was no enough to prevent a comfortable Clippers victory at 126-111 (37-26, 27:27, 28-27, 34-31).

Henri Drell ended the game with two points, two assists, and one rebound. The Bulls' top performer was Demar DeRozan, who finished with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and six rebounds, with four more Bulls players also reaching double digits for points.

For the Clippers, Paul George was in excellent form, missing only once from the field, and ending the game with 28 points (two-pointers 5/5, three-pointers 6/7), seven assists, and five rebounds. Kawhi Leonard contributed another 26 points, and "Bones" Hyland achieved a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists.

The Bulls have won 32 games and lost 35 in the season so far and currently sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. As things stand, that would be enough to qualify for the postseason play-in tournament. Success there would give them a shot at the playoffs. However, there are still 15 games to go in the regular season, with plenty for the Bulls, and Henri Drell, left to play for.

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