The rebuilding Milwaukee Bucks were probably expected to lose on the road to the Washington Wizards on opening night. 

However, even in new beginnings, competitiveness is welcome. That's why their 128-116 defeat on Wednesday was encouraging but also disappointing, given they led for more than half the game. 

The Bucks took a 93-90 lead into the fourth quarter before being outscored 38-23 in the frame, succumbing in a deflating fashion. 

However, taking a restructured Wizards team that is looking to challenge the top of the Eastern Conference hierarchy — albeit without AJ Dybantsa, their No. 1 overall pick from this year's Draft — down to the wire is a solid benchmark for this young Milwaukee team to build from. 

Entering his 10th year in the NBA, veteran Kyle Kuzma was one of the few players the Bucks needed to play better to gut out a win. 

Speaking after the game, Kuzma acknowledged what went wrong and looked ahead to his team growing from the setback. 

"We competed for 3 1/2 quarters," he said. " For most of the game, we were in a great spot. But in this league, you have to play 48 minutes. There were a lot of positives to take out of tonight. 

"We're gonna watch the film and also look at a lot of the negatives that we had... We just have to stay with it. It's a long season, and everybody is bought into that." 

Following an offseason-long battle for a starting role, Kuzma got the nod from first-year head coach Taylor Jenkins against the Wizards. He posted five points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, and three turnovers on 2-for-9 shooting (1-for-4 3PT) in 27 minutes. 

While a lot of this campaign for the Bucks will be about assessing their young talent with one eye on the future, Kuzma is an experienced player who should and will be held to higher standards, particularly on the offensive end.

Although it was on the road, Wisconsin native Tyler Herro looked good in his Milwaukee debut. 

He led the team in scoring with 24 points and added 9 assists — taking on the playmaking duties more typically expected of backcourt running mate Ryan Rollins, who had an off night. 

The downside of Herro's performance was his inefficiency, as he shot 9-for-21 from the field and 4-for-11 from beyond the arc. 

Fellow Bucks debutant Jaime Jaquez Jr. also impressed, dropping 22 points (8-for-12 FG) with seven rebounds. 

Rollins (9 points, 4-for-14 FG) and Myles Turner (11 points, 4-for-7 FG) combined for 20 points, with the former seeing another offseason addition in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, Kasparas Jakucionis, take some of his minutes late in the game. 

Jakucionis poured in 15 points in 26 minutes off the bench, staking a claim for more usage moving forward alongside rookie No. 10 pick Brayden Burries, who added 12 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes. 

The Bucks falling off the boil down the stretch was underscored by the Wizards' advantage in paint points (70-50) and at the free-throw line (32-41 to 19-23). 

Anthony Davis paced the hosts with a dominant 34-point, 12-rebound double-double. Trae Young added 20 points and 13 assists.