SALT LAKE CITY – Changes, some by necessity, some by choice, came in spades for the Mavericks Thursday night.

First, Kyrie Irving became the latest addition to the injured list when he came out with a right shoulder strain against the Utah Jazz. That brought Quentin Grimes into the starting lineup.

Coach Jason Kidd also wanted to change course with his big men, so Dereck Lively II and Maxi Kleber, who returned after nine games on the shelf with a right hamstring strain, started in place of Daniel Gafford and Naji Marshall. PJ Washington remained out with a right knee sprain.

The results were mixed. The Mavericks got off to a solid start in the first quarter, but then laid a huge egg in the third quarter, ultimately dropping a 115-113 decision to the Jazz.

“I thought they did a good job,” coach Jason Kidd said of the new lineup. “D-Live got into big trouble. That’s something we’ll watch on tape to see how he can improve. But I thought that group gave us some energy. We are off to a good start.”

That said, the lineup remains a work in progress.

“It’s liquid,” Kidd said. “Just looking at the energy, I thought the group did a great job. We won the first quarter. But as we get healthier, we will look at it again and a change may occur. Most likely things will change when PJ comes back.”

The Mavericks have used the next-man-up mantra early and often this season, but the shuffling makes it difficult to get any continuity going.

Still, there were good signs on Thursday. Grimes had 15 points to start Irving and Marshall’s move to the bench seemed to agree with him. He provided a spark with 19 points.

It was nice for Kleber to be back on the field. Technically, he was cleared to play at the start of this trip Sunday in Denver. But he wasn’t quite ready yet and the Mavericks opted for the cautious route.

“Better every day, obviously,” Kleber said. “I need to get the rhythm and everything back, but we’ve done a lot of work to improve the strength and endurance, so I’m feeling better.”

Kleber said the three weeks on the sidelines were not a complete loss. He paid close attention to how the team played, especially in the final three games before Thursday, all of which came in close losses against teams with championship aspirations.

“I think we have a great team,” Kleber said. “Obviously we suffered some tough losses, especially at the end of the game, but you can see the fight, even in games where we are behind, we fight back.

“So I think everything is there, we just need to clean up the little things against good teams, just things we need to get on the same page. We talked a lot, did a lot of video work and analyzed a lot to come up with better solutions.”

And on Thursday they adjusted 60 percent of the starting lineup.

Kidd said there was no significant concern that Irving’s shoulder would be a long-term problem.

Disposal week: The three-game trip that ended Thursday seemed especially long with two close games to kick off, plus the crazy, emotional day in Golden State with Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay Area.

It can take a toll on a team.

Kidd said he and the coaching staff kept their finger on the pulse of the team through it all.

“That’s an ongoing process, monitoring the emotions of the sport, the game of basketball or life itself, because they are human,” Kidd said. “We always talk about close games, being disappointed or excited. But they also have things that happen outside the arena. This is always monitored. These are not shared publicly, but we talk about the game.

“This was an emotional week, starting in Denver and having the opportunity to win there. And then the build-up to that game at Golden State with Klay. We can worry a little more about the mental fatigue, the physical fatigue. So we have to be careful with that because we understand that the competition is not going to be interrupted, the games keep coming and we have to be prepared to try to win and put our best foot forward and win as many games as possible during the season. But this has been an emotional week for everyone.”

Choosing your poison: Jazz coach Will Hardy was asked what strategy he is trying to use against Luka Dončić.

In short, he said there is no right answer to that question.

“We’ve felt in the past that the more we can keep Luka on the perimeter, the better,” Hardy said. “You can live with a team that beats you with a number of jump shots.

“The games where the Mavs have really hurt us in the past are when we see seven, eight dunks from guys like Gafford and Lively. When you couple that with the special shotmaking that is on the Mavericks’ roster, you don’t take anything away.”

Besides making Dončić and Thompson work hard for their shots, Hardy said you just have to live with the results, recognizing that sometimes special players make special plays.

X: @ESefko