MIAMI — Having shown they have a game that can win in the absence of Jimmy Butler, the question for the Miami Heat next becomes when the team again can put it all together.

The only given when it comes to Butler’s calf strain is the plan for him to take flight with the team when they depart Wednesday for their five-game western swing that opens Thursday against the Golden State Warriors.

“He’s going to go on this road trip with us,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We have another day before the next practice, two days before we get to San Francisco. I really don’t know right now what the timetable is. We’ll have a better idea by then.”

Butler has missed the past three games, all victories, with rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. starting in his place. His rehab suffered a setback when he took ill over the weekend.

In addition to Butler being out of Monday night’s victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Kaseya Center, the Heat also went into that game without forward Haywood Highsmith, who was ill, and without guard Josh Richardson, who again is dealing with a back issue.

Then, during the Christmas night victory, the Heat lost starting power forward Caleb Martin in the first quarter with an ankle sprain.

Spoelstra said after Monday night’s game the team was awaiting further clarity with Martin. Because the Heat do not play again until Thursday, there was no need to file an injury report with the league Tuesday.

“Who knows?” Spoelstra said of the uncertainty with Martin. “You ask him and any player right now would say they’re fine. He sprained his ankle. I didn’t see footage of it. We’ll see how he responds.”

With Martin out, seldom-used second-year forward Jamal Cain started Monday’s second half in place of Martin, with the Heat also calling upon guard RJ Hampton, who had played only 11 minutes with the Heat this season before going 17:26 on Monday night.

With the Heat arguably lacking their top four perimeter defenders against the 76ers — when counting Butler, Martin, Highsmith and Richardson — Spoelstra said the contributions of Cain and Hampton were essential in the team winning for the sixth time in its last eight games.

“They gave us very good minutes,” Spoelstra said, with Cain playing 16:42 Monday. “They have prepared for that. It’s not easy for the players in their situation where you don’t know if you’re going to play. And most nights, you probably have an idea that you’re not going to play. But you still have to stay ready and things change so quickly in this league.

“No one knew that we would have sickness and then J-Rich was a late-day scratch and then Caleb all of a sudden spraining an ankle. Those guys gave us some really good minutes.”

Holding on

Having twice blown 21-point leads in losses this season — against the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks — the Heat on Monday night blew a 21-point third-quarter lead before regrouping against the 76ers’ roster lacking sidelined center Joel Embiid.

“I think that’s just the way Heat basketball has been this year,” rookie guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “I don’t know if today was a roller coaster. All the days are a roller coaster when it comes to playing in this league and trying to get wins.”

The Heat led for the final 5:55 Monday, bucking their recent trend of fourth-quarter collapses.

Holiday cheer

With Monday’s victory,  Spoelstra improved to 9-0 coaching on Christmas, with the Heat improving to 12-2 on the holiday, the highest winning percentage of any team with multiple Christmas appearances. The Heat are 7-0 at home on Christmas . . .

Up 63-49 against the 76ers at the intermission, the Heat have now scored 60 or more in the first half in four in a row, one game shy of the franchise record, set in 2020 . . .

In closing with a season-high 56 rebounds Monday, the Heat also closed with their largest rebounding margin of the season (56-36).