Nets rally late for 111-105 victory over Bucks, who played again without Antetokounmpo and Lillard

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cam Johnson scored 29 points, Noah Clowney added 20 and the Brooklyn Nets rallied late for a 111-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

Nic Claxton had 13 points for the Nets, who had lost eight of 10 before making 16 of 38 3-pointers against a Milwaukee squad that was playing a third straight game without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

With their top two scorers out, the Bucks got 21 points from Khris Middleton, 20 from Brook Lopez, 18 from Bobby Portis and 14 from Gary Trent Jr. while shooting 50.7% from the floor and 39.5% on 3-point attempts.

Nets: Brooklyn snapped a three-game losing streak at Milwaukee, where its most recent victory had been Feb. 26, 2022. The Nets return on Jan. 2 for the final meeting between the teams looking to clinch their first season series victory in four years.

Bucks: Lopez has scored 10 or more points in each of his last five games and has 41 points in his last two.

After trailing the entire second half, Brooklyn rattled off a 7-0 run late in the fourth to pull ahead 99-97. After Middleton scored to tie it, the Nets pulled ahead with a 3-pointer from Clowney and went up by four when Claxton split a pair of free throws with 1:57 to play. Middleton's 3 made it a one-possession game but Johnson converted a four-point play on the other end to put the Nets up 109-102 with 47 seconds to play.

Lopez scored 11 straight points in the second quarter but had just two points after halftime.

The Bucks travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday night, while the Nets return to Brooklyn to host San Antonio before heading back out on the road to close out 2024.

AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

Brooklyn Nets' Shake Milton tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Gary Trent Jr. during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Tyrese Martin tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Delon Wright during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton shoots in front of Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Cameron Johnson tries to get past Milwaukee Bucks' Taurean Prince during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Cameron Johnson dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Brooklyn Nets' Ben Simmons dunks during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading Friday as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, with more than 80% of stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. Still, the index is managing to hold onto a modest gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 402 points, or 0.9%, to 42,945 as of 10:41 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are also holding on to weekly gains.

Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market Friday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 3.2%. Its enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes. Other Big Tech stocks losing ground included Microsoft, with a 2.2% decline.

A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 2.2% and Best Buy slipped 1.9%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season.

Energy was the only sector within the S&P 500 rising. It gained 0.5% as crude oil prices rose 0.8%.

Investors don't have much in the way of corporate or economic updates to review as the market moves closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998.

The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing.

A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader.

Markets in Europe gained ground.

Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.59% from late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury slipped to 4.32% from 4.33% late Thursday.

Wall Street will have more economic updates to look forward to next week, including reports on pending home sales and home prices. There will also be reports on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.

FIL:E - The New York Stock Exchange is shown in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FIL:E - People photograph the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People wait in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)