ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Don MacLean and Brent Price, two of the 10 Washington Bullets who weren't on the team last season, got a taste of what this season holds in the preseason opener, a 118-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls before 18,794 in the Florida Suncoast Dome on Saturday night.
MacLean, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers this week, finished with 10 points, eight in the second quarter. He showed he can hit his shot, and the Bullets showed that their offense can get the ball to him.
"It's never been a problem for me," MacLean said of his shooting. "It's funny. Any level I move up to, people wonder if I can make the shot."
Coach Wes Unseld said: "At this point, he [MacLean] can't do any wrong as long as he's working hard."
Price had eight points and four assists in the first half, but he didn't play much in the second half after his bruised hip started to bother him.
The rookie point guard bruised it during Thursday's scrimmage.
"It wasn't bad, it wasn't terrible," Unseld said of his team's play. "Right now, we're concerned mostly with the team's conditioning and if the players are doing what they are supposed to."
Michael Jordan, in his first preseason appearance, scored 15 of his 19 points to lead the Bulls on a spirited 34-8 run that turned a 65-51 Bullets lead into an 85-73 Bulls lead with 4:15 remaining.
Washington led 59-51 at halftime, behind an 11-point effort from free agent Pete Myers and 10 from Pervis Ellison.
Ellison seemed comfortable at power forward, scoring 18 points. Myers finished with 17 and Rex Chapman added 10.