NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (Ticker) -- New York Knicks coach Larry Brown is trying to determine which players should finish games. Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery has no such problems.

Guards Baron Davis and Jason Richardson led a fourth-quarter surge that lifted the Warriors to an 83-81 victory over the winless Knicks in the opener of a three-game road trip.

NBA TV highlights from Warriors-Knicks: Play

In leaving the Detroit Pistons to take over the Knicks, Brown inherited a team laden with mismatched veterans. The squad also has first-round picks Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee on the roster.

Looking for some continuity, Brown has been willing to play his rookies, who have responded. In Sunday's matinee, Frye had 12 points and six rebounds, Lee added eight and 10 and Robinson scored seven points.

"I won't play the rookies all the time, but they've earned it," Brown said. "It's going to take some time. We're trying to figure out who can play and who can help us. It's obvious who has the energy - we all have to do that. It's got to be infectious for everyone. But again, I'm trying to figure it out."

The rookies played the final 3:16 of the third period, entering when Golden State held a 60-56 lead. They played the first six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Knicks made 8-of-14 shots while they were on the court, taking a 74-71 lead on Robinson's layup.

But Brown, who played his entire active roster for the second straight game, went with experience down the stretch. He replaced the rookies with veterans Malik Rose, Antonio Davis and Matt Barnes.

"I thought they (rookies) were a little tired," Brown said. "I don't want to put the rookies in a tough stretch like that. I thought we had some good defensive people out there, but hey, I wasn't disappointed with how they played."

"Everyone wants to win," said Frye, who played 23 minutes. "We just come in there and bring energy. We figure we are only going to play five to seven minutes, so we just want to bring energy and play the right way."

At about the same time, Montgomery went back to his starting backcourt of Richardson and Davis. The move worked as Richardson and Davis led the Warriors on a 12-1 run.

"(Davis is) a steadying influence," Montgomery said. "He just keeps the ball in his hands and guys know he'll be able to get the ball to them. I didn't intend to play him as much as I did, but I really wanted to win the game."

Davis, who sat out Friday's loss to Utah with a hamstring injury, made a pair of tough driving layups around a 3-pointer by Richardson as Golden State reclaimed the lead for good at 78-74 with 2:43 to go.

"I tried to play a better floor game," Davis said. "We were 1-1 and a little upset with how we played Friday (against Utah)."

"We're capable of winning games when we need to come from behind," Richardson said. "We have the players who can take it up to another level and take the lead back."

By that point, the Knicks were mired in a basket drought that would last more than six minutes, despite the presence of the veterans. Davis and Richardson combined for five free throws in the last minute to push the advantage to 83-75, and the Warriors held on.

Richardson scored 24 points and Davis added 16 and nine assists. Troy Murphy had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who has won six of the last seven meetings between the clubs.

"I thought we showed a lot of character tonight by going in there and coming back and winning," Murphy said. "Baron made some big plays for us and we got a couple of stops at the end. That was the difference."

Stephon Marbury scored 15 points and Eddy Curry added 12 for the Knicks, who missed all 13 of their 3-pointers. Marbury scored nine points in the third period, when the Knicks rallied from a 50-41 deficit. Curry sat out the final 15-plus minutes with four fouls.