MIAMI — A day after Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson was sidelined in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s NBA Cup road loss to the Orlando Magic, a Wednesday MRI showed nothing more than the sprained left ankle that initially was diagnosed.

The expectation is Larsson will be sidelined a week or two, depending on his response to treatment, a diagnosis less severe than initially considered.

The timing will allow for maximum rest and minimal missed time, with the Heat scheduled for only five games before their Christmas break.

Larsson returned Tuesday after missing the previous game, Saturday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings at Kaseya Center, due to tightness in his right hip flexor, his lone absence of the season to this point.

Larsson was third off the Heat bench on Tuesday night, with his spot in Tuesday night’s rotation taken later in the game by guard Dru Smith, who did not play in the first half of the 117-108 loss.

The Heat are idle until Monday night against the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, a game added to the schedule with the Heat’s elimination from the NBA Cup.

In addition to that game, the Heat’s other games before their Dec. 24-25 Christmas break are Dec. 18 at the Brooklyn Nets, Dec. 19 at the Boston Celtics, Dec. 21 at the New York Knicks, and then home again against the Raptors on Dec. 23.

A significant component in the rotation prior to the Nov. 24 return of Tyler Herro from September ankle surgery, Larsson has scored in single digits in his past eight appearances, after scoring in double figures in seven of his prior eight appearances.

With Larsson the only player on the current Heat injury report, his absence simply could result in additional time for Herro, Smith, Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Simone Fontecchio, or potentially another shot at the rotation for Nikola Jovic, who has been held out of the rotation by coach’s decision in two of the past three games, including Tuesday night in Orlando.

Based on their position against the punitive NBA luxury tax, the Heat will be positioned as of Saturday to fill their vacant 15th standard roster spot with a player at the NBA minimum and still remain under the tax.

Patient approach

While first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis could be another option to fill in for Larsson, coach Erik Spoelstra said prior to Tuesday night’s game that the goal with last June’s No. 20 pick drafted out of Illinois is to maximize court time in the G League.

Jakucionis was recalled from the Sioux Falls Skyforce ahead of the Magic game when Herro, Larsson, Mitchell and Smith all were on the Heat injury report.

“He’s played well,” Spoelstra said of the Lithuanian’s time in the G League, otherwise with just a single minute of action with the Heat. “The most important thing, I told him that I’m not really going to evaluate his play right now.

“He works extremely hard. He’s very dedicated. We just want to get him the game minutes, as many as possible, and stack up those games. Right now, since we had a couple of injuries, he’s back with us.”

The Heat’s G League affiliate returns to action Saturday in Cleveland, against the Cavaliers’ affiliate, with Jakucionis still with the Heat as of Wednesday.

“Right now, it’s just about gaining experience and putting that with the work ethic and then we’ll see where this lands the second half of the season, and then we’ll start evaluating a little bit more,” Spoelstra said.

“But I don’t want him to feel any kind of pressure when he goes there. He’s a winning player. He makes things happen. And the reason why we drafted him, we like the skill set that he has. But he can go in there with a clear mind and just compete and play.”