Collins (finger) underwent surgery on April 8 to address an infection in his finger, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reports.
Collins sustained a cut on his finger April 6 against Portland and missed the final two games of the regular season. It was initially believed to be only a minor issue, but a subsequent infection sent the big man to the hospital. "I was in the hospital overnight," Collins said. "It was just so much for something so small. It was crazy." With the Spurs' season over, there's no long-term concern here, and Collins should be back up to speed within the next few weeks. In his second season in San Antonio, Collins appeared in 63 games (26 starts) and logged averages of 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 0.8 blocks in 22.9 minutes per contest.
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Spurs' Julian Champagnie: Bags first career double-double
Rotowire
Champagnie totaled 16 points (5-16 FG, 3-10 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes in Sunday's 138-117 win over the Mavericks.
Due to San Antonio holding out several key rotation players over the final few weeks of the season, Champagnie was able to take hold of a consistent 20-plus-minute role down the stretch. He wrapped up his rookie campaign with a double-double and averaged 20.0 points (on 47.9 percent shooting from the field), 6.2 boards, 3.8 three-pointers, 1.2 assists and 0.6 steals over his last five outings to conclude the season. Though Champagnie won't be in line to handle heavy minutes to begin the 2023-24 season and may not even be part of the rotation, he likely showed enough for San Antonio to retain him while he heads into restricted free agency this summer.
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Spurs' Malaki Branham: Scores 20 points in season finale
Rotowire
Branham logged 20 points (8-15 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 2-2 FT) and three rebounds in 24 minutes during Sunday's 138-117 victory over Dallas.
Branham ended the season on a strong note and finished with double-digit points in all but one of his last nine appearances. The 2022 first-round pick started the season slow but picked things up in the final months, and he ended as one of the most productive rookies in The Association. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game across 66 outings (32 starts). Those numbers improve to 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per tilt when considering only his 32 starts.
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Spurs' Sandro Mamukelashvili: Records double-double
Rotowire
Mamukelashvili finished with 23 points (8-17 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 3-6 FT), 11 rebounds, four assists and one block in 31 minutes during Sunday's 138-117 victory over Dallas.
Mamukelashvili moved between the starting lineup and the bench in the last month of the regular season, and there's no question he took advantage of the opportunity. He averaged 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game during that span, which increased to 15.0 points and 7.6 boards when featuring as a starter. For the season, the big man averaged 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest across 43 appearances (seven starts) between the Spurs and Bucks.
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Spurs' Dominick Barlow: Closes season on strong note
Rotowire
Barlow finished with 21 points (8-11 FG, 5-7 FT), 19 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal over 34 minutes during Sunday's 138-117 win over the Mavericks.
The undrafted rookie closed out his season on a high note, setting new career-best marks in minutes, points and rebounds in the finale. The 19-year-old was outside of the rotation for much of the season, but he logged double-digit minutes in all but two of the final 16 games while several key players sat out for rest or minor injuries. Altogether, Barlow finished the campaign with averages of 3.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.7 blocks in 14.1 minutes per contest while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 72 percent from the charity stripe in 29 appearances.
Langford (thigh) is available Sunday against Dallas.
Langford played 18 minutes in each of the last two matchups but was questionable ahead of Sunday's matchup. While he isn't starting despite the Spurs being shorthanded, he'll be able to suit up for the regular-season finale.
