Without point guard Ty Lawson, the Denver Nuggets have been in some serious trouble against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, trailing 31-15 following the game's first quarter. Problems have been ample on both sides of the ball for Denver, as the score shows.

Things were actually close for the game's first four minutes, as the Spurs handled a small 7-6 lead. The rest of the period would be an absolute beating, as the Spurs responded by going on a 19-1 run to take a stunning 19-point advantage. The Nuggets made just five field goals in the entire period, shooting a brutal 28 percent from the field.

DeJuan Blair leads the Spurs in scoring with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting. They've also gotten six points apiece from Tim Duncan and Danny Green. Nearly all of Denver's points have been scored by the backcourt, as Andre Miller leads the Nuggets with five points while Arron Afflalo has four points of his own. Al Harrington came on late in the period to add another four points himself.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Denver. For more on this upcoming game, visitNuggets blog Denver Stiffs and Spurs blog Pounding The Rock. Head over to SB Nation NBA for more news and notes around the league.