Trail Blazers’ backcourt duo is rounding into shape

The Portland Trail Blazers’ win Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets saw Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe combine for 55 points, the most this season.

Their performance marked just the third time this season that both reached 20 points.

“This is kind of what you would hope you get from two guys like that who are pretty dynamic,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.

Simons scored 28 points, including the game-winner as time expired, to give the Blazers a 126-124 win. Sharpe added 27 while improving his decision-making.

“I was very happy with the shots that he was able to generate and get tonight,” Billups said.

Should their performance become a trend rather than an anomaly, victories could increase in frequency for the Blazers (9-18)

Given how little the pair have played together, their lack of consistent success sharing the backcourt is understandable.

Last season, the duo both appeared in just 13 games with Sharpe missing 50 and Simons, 36.

“They missed a ton of time together last season,” Billups said.

This season, Sharpe missed the first eight games with a shoulder injury. Soon after his return, Simons sat out three games. Consequently, they’ve played just 16 games together this season for a total of 29, dating back to the start of last season.

Not ideal.

Sharpe’s highest-scoring games this season came on Nov. 13 (33 points against Minnesota) and Nov. 17 (32 points against Atlanta). Both were victories played without Simons, out with an illness.

On Nov. 23 at Houston, Sharpe scored 25 while Simons poured in 25. On Dec. 1, Sharpe scored 22 in a loss to Dallas, while Simons added 27.

Then came Thursday night. Billups praised his guards’ aggressiveness and good decision-making, which led to good shots for them and others.

“Every time the ball swung to either one of them, they were just aggressive to make the right play, and not necessarily the shot,” Billups said. “And you just never know, when you’re playing like that, the ball just pops around, pops around and all of the sudden it’s back in your hands.”

Simons said the pair is still learning how to play together as starters. Their communication, he said, is improving as they gain a feel for how to play off each other. Gradually, Simons, the point guard, is learning how to set up Sharpe, the shooting guard, for success.

“We’re trying to figure it out,” Simons said.

Should that happen, the Blazers could finally have an idea of what their backcourt could look like beyond this season.

— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)