Warriors still piling up blocks without Kevin Durant

HOUSTON — While many analysts wondered how the Warriors would replace Kevin Durant's scoring, head coach Steve Kerr was just as concerned with whether his team could fill Durant's void defensively. Before sustaining a left knee injury Feb. 28 at Washington, Durant was the biggest reason Golden State's interior defense hadn't regressed without Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. Durant, who was swatting a career-best 1.6 shots per game, anchored a team that led the league in blocks. The Warriors are averaging 6.9 blocks per game during their current seven-game winning streak, slightly above their NBA-best season average of 6.6. For the most part, Golden State's sound interior defense has been the result of players switching on screens and helping their teammates. In a radio interview earlier this month with Dan Patrick, Stephen Curry picked Houston's James Harden over Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook to win NBA MVP because the Rockets have a better record than the Thunder. "Steph knows that, whenever you answer something, people are going to run with it," said Kerr, whose Warriors face the Rockets on Tuesday.