Watch: Nuggets HC Michael Malone calls earliest timeout of the season in loss

The Nuggets were thoroughly confused on the first play of the quarter, as Jamal Murray left his man to double Evan Mobley, then failed to take Merrill when Julian Strawther also switched onto Mobley. By the time Mobley's pass found Merrill behind the arc, Murray was leaping backwards into the lane after biting on a pass fake.

Still, it was extremely early to use a timeout, both in the game and in the quarter. But that's how mad Malone was at the defensive breakdown, and at his team falling behind 40-27. 

Malone's often fiery on the sidelines, often evidenced by what Nuggets fans call "rage timeouts." That's when Malone seems to take a timeout out of anger, or so he can berate the officials ... or his own players ... or both.

Malone was clearly frustrated at Denver's inept defense, which is ranked No. 21 in the NBA this year. Thursday, they gave up 22 threes in a 126-114 loss to Cleveland.

Two were from Merrill, an unassuming-looking player who was the final pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Thanks to a Mormon mission, Merrill was 24 years old when he entered the league, and his lanky frame isn't what you see from a typical NBA players.

But he's been a reliable three-point threat for the Cavaliers, making 2.3 triples per game at a 40.4% clip last season. In fact, Merrill is almost exclusively a three-point threat, taking 88.6% of his shots from three-point range this season. 

If there's anyone on the Cavaliers roster the Nuggets shouldn't be ignoring at the three-point line, it's Merrill. When they did, Malone had to stop things right away.

The rage timeout may have motivated the Nuggets, who rallied to cut Cleveland's lead to 66-62 by halftime. But in the third quarter, the Cavs started to pull away again. With 1:57, Merrill shook Strawther and made his second three-pointer of the game to give his team a 16-point lead.

And then Michael Malone immediately called another timeout.