Porzingis' blocks charity up to $43,000 for NY hoop program

NEW YORK (AP) Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis' campaign to raise money through his blocked shots has generated $43,000 thus far for a New York-area youth basketball organization.

Porzingis pledged to donate $500 to the RENS for each block, and New York real estate developer Keith Rubenstein, the founder of Somerset Partners and a longtime Knicks season-ticket holder, announced he was matching Porzingis' contribution for $1,000 per block.

The 7-foot-3 Porzingis has 43 blocks in the five weeks of the ''KrisStops'' program, raising his average to 1.9 per game to rank seventh in the NBA.

The RENS program has more than 225 players between ages 7 and 17. The campaign benefits its Ben Jobe Educational Fund, which will be used for scholarship money to help pay tuitions for Catholic, private and prep schools.