Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons hasn't been off to the best of starts in the newest campaign. After shooting 9-of-22 in the Blazers' season opener, he proceeded to shoot 5-17 in back-to-back games, which both ended in two-point victories over the Phoenix Suns and the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.

But the 23-year old guard came to life in a big way during the third quarter of their latest game against the Denver Nuggets. After scoring only seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in the first half, Simons exploded for 22 points to open the second half, going 8-of-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from deep, including some insane makes from deep 3-point range.

And LeBron James loved every bit of Simons' barrage from beyond the arc.

“Anfernee Simmons is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” James wrote. Funnily enough, LeBron was quick to notice his error in spelling Simons' surname, and quickly rectified his mistake. “*Simons. My bad bruh! Anyways you are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”

Anfernee Simons' third quarter onslaught blew the game open for the Blazers, spearheading a 44-25 outburst that gave Portland a lead they did not relinquish. Overall, Simons tallied 29 points and five assists on the night, leading the Blazers to a dominant 135-110 victory over the Nuggets.

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As for LeBron James, well, the Blazers love Anfernee Simons so much that the Lakers won't be able to squeeze their name into trade talks for the fifth-year guard anytime soon. The Blazers just locked up Simons to a four-year, $100 million deal this past offseason, immediately erasing his name from any links to the Lakers for the foreseeable future.

However, seeing Simons drain difficult 3-pointers with ease might have given LeBron a sense of envy, what with the Lakers' collection of putrid outside shooters. The Lakers, through their first three games, have made only 8.3 threes on a despicable 39.3 attempts per night (21.2 percent), with Russell Westbrook being the chief scapegoat thus far for the Lakers' struggles.

The Lakers aside, the Blazers are off to an impressive 4-0 start to the season, with wins coming over Western Conference contenders such as the Suns and the Nuggets. Damian Lillard's abdominal issues seem to be a thing of the past, having followed up his 41-point explosions in consecutive close wins with a 31-point effort. And with Anfernee Simons rounding into form, the Blazers could conceivably become one of the more unsung threats in the NBA as the season progresses.