James, Melo, Paul fall short in Philly exhibition

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — LeBron James had the superstar trio with him and the crowd against him.

September felt like June all over again, especially when another Big Three came up short.

James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul couldn’t lead their team back from a dreadful start, as Team Philly beat Melo’s stars of Baltimore 131-122 on Sunday night at the Palestra.

Just like when the Miami team led by James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh was knocked off by Dallas in the NBA finals, the bigger names didn’t click in time to get the victory many expected.

A sold-out crowd that greeted James with thunderous boos when he came onto the floor roared in the final minute when former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans used a series of fakes to drive into the lane for a basket that put it away at 131-119.