LOS ANGELES – It’s hours before game-time and Cole Aldrich is ready to go to work inside a virtually empty Clippers locker room. He’s done chatting with reporters, done snacking on apple slices and peanut butter, and ready to watch video.

But, he doesn’t do that alone.

Aldrich yells without getting up, and sure enough, Pablo Prigioni scurries out of the back and takes a seat next to the center’s locker. Prigioni reaches for the tablet with the game video, and soon, Aldrich starts to gripe.

“Why does he talk to me like this?” Prigioni asks, shaking his head. “I give him the ball all the time.”

In one chair, you have the 7-foot Minnesotan with the messy faux-hawk, missing front tooth and outgoing nature. In the other, you have the 6-3 Argentine (with all his teeth), who playfully calls himself “the Invisible Man” for his ability to blend into the background and avoid the media.

This very different, yet very similar, duo has helped stabilize the Clippers bench, and Wednesday, it helped the team to one of its best wins of the season.

Aldrich scored a season-high 19 points and Prigioni had a career-best eight steals in the Clippers’ 104-90 victory over the Miami Heat.

After the win, Josh Smith was asked about theduo’s friendship, and as he talked about how they sit next to each other on the team plane, Austin Rivers had to butt in.

“They’re like their own little couple,” Rivers said.

Told of the assessment, Aldrich let out a high-pitched laugh.

“We’re buddies,” he said.

They travel together on the road. They watch video together. They go out to dinner together. And, they play basketball together.

The on-court bond came easily when the two met in New York in 2013-14 while playing for the Knicks.

“I know where he’s going to be, where he’s going to set the screen, where he’s going to roll, it’s easier,” Prigioni said. “When I play on the national team, I don’t play with (Luis) Scola for a year, but I meet him at the national team, and after two practices, I know exactly where he’s going to go. That’s the same with Cole.”

Since Clippers coach Doc Rivers decided to go with Aldrich instead of Smith off the bench on Dec. 21, the Clippers have gone 10-1. The second unit, a group defined by its inconsistency, has found an identity with Aldrich’s reliability in the center.

Since moving into the rotation, Aldrich is averaging 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds.

“Cole just knows who he is,” Doc Rivers said. “He has this body, and he uses it. He doesn’t try to beat you athletically; he just gets his body in the right positions. He rolls to the right spot.”

And usually, Prigioni is the one finding him.

A pass-first, pass-second, pass-third and pass-fourth point guard – he’s taken 12 shots in the Clippers’ past 10 games – Prigioni has been running the second unit’s offense for the past 11 games.

But Wednesday, it was his defense that stood out.

Stalking ball-handlers in the backcourt, something he’s done throughout his career, Prigioni amassed eight steals in less than 15 minutes – something that’s not been done in the past 30 years.

“Pablo’s just a crafty, veteran player,” Doc Rivers said. “Eight steals in (15) minutes is impressive because that’s what he does. He honestly drives (assistant coach) Lawrence Frank crazy because half of those steals, he should be getting back on defense. But, we have the philosophy with him that if you can get it, get it.”

Prigioni said he just relies on his eyes and instinct to make the defensive plays. Wednesday, it worked.

“I don’t know, I just tried to be active and tried to read what they were going to do,” he said. “I was lucky on some of them.”

Aldrich, 27, knows there’s more to it than that. It’s a big part of the reason he makes sure to spend as much time with Prigioni, 38, who is in his 20th professional season, as he does.

“It’s just his understanding,” Aldrich said. “We’re clearly at different points in our lives. He’s at the end of his career. I’m, hopefully, in the beginning or the middle of mine. Learning from him has been awesome.”

And, it’s fun to talk to the two about one another.

There’s going to come a time, Aldrich said, when he goes to visit Prigioni in his native Argentina.

“He’s got a farm with a plethora amount of cows, all grass-fed. Sometime, I want to make sure I get down there,” Aldrich said. “He’s going to barbecue something.”

And, what delicacy will Prigioni get when he visits Aldrich in Minnesota?

“Not a damn thing,” Aldrich said, laughing as he walked away.

Contact the writer: dwoike@ocregister.com