CHICAGO — A couple times a year when he was a kid, Brandon Paul’s father would load the kids up and drive them down to the United Center for a Chicago Bulls game.

With Paul wearing Scottie Pippen’s jersey and his brothers in Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman gear, the family would root on the hometown team from the cheap seats.

“We’d die our hair red and my dad would take us to the games,” said Paul, a Chicago native and Spurs rookie guard. “It was definitely a big thing growing up to go to the Bulls games.”

The Bulls team Paul’s Spurs outlasted 87-77 on Saturday bears little in common with the dynasty squads of his youth.

Starting a lineup that seemed closer to the G-League than the NBA Finals — second-year guard Jerian Grant earned the honor of being introduced last — Chicago could do little more than make the Spurs sweat a little.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 12 of his 28 points in the third quarter to help the Spurs pull away and improve to 2-0.

“L.A. was just a difference-maker for us, the way he scored,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “The defense in the second half and L.A.’s offense is what got us over.”

Aldridge added 10 rebounds, becoming the second player in Spurs history to open a season with at least 25 points and 10 boards.

Tim Duncan was the first, hitting those thresholds on each of the first two games of the 2004-05 campaign.

“He’s playing very well,” center Pau Gasol said of his frontcourt counterpart.

It took a while for the Spurs to ruin the baby Bulls’ home opener.

For a first half that won’t find its way into basketball textbooks any time soon, Chicago hung tight.

The Spurs shot 41.5 percent in the first half. They had eight turnovers. They failed to convert a 3-pointer.

They led 41-38 because somehow Chicago was worse. The Bulls coughed up 11 first-half turnovers, good for 13 Spurs points.

The Spurs knew there would be moments like this, opening the season without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard and longtime starting point guard Tony Parker.

“We are at a point where we are trying to build confidence, build stamina, build camaraderie and gets used to playing together,” guard Manu Ginobili said.

Many of the Bulls, meanwhile, are just trying to get used to the NBA.

Chicago’s best player on Saturday was rookie center Lauri Markkanen, a 7-footer from Finland who posted a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double.

The Spurs began to build a cushion in the third quarter, using their defense to generate offense.

They made only one 3-pointer, finishing 1 of 12 but owned the paint 52-32.

Rudy Gay gave the Spurs 12 points off the bench, while point guard Dejounte Murray had eight points, six assists and 10 rebounds.

“The defense was better in the second half,” Popovich said. “I thought we walked through things in the first half. They moved the ball better than we did. They got more open shots than we did.”

When Patty Mills found a cutting Aldridge for a fast-break layup with 3:11 left in the third, it put the Spurs ahead 63-51.

Running as the focal point of the Spurs’ offense, Aldridge has totaled 51 points in the first two games. The last time he scored as many in consecutive contests was Jan. 1 and Jan. 5 of last season.

“Right now we’re playing through him,” Mills said. “He’s the head of the snake. Everything revolves around him.”

The rebuilding Bulls have no such player on their roster. They are the youngest team in the league, and will make a run at being one of the worst before the season is out.

Gasol is a little more than a season removed from calling the Bulls’ locker room home.

He barely recognized the occupants of the United Center on Saturday.

Other than Robin Lopez, none of the players who started the Bulls’ loss in Toronto on Thursday had ever opened an NBA season in the starting lineup.

“They have changed quite a bit,” said Gasol, who had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. “A lot of moves, a lot of players coming and going. They have a lot of young talent, but it’s going to take them awhile to develop. It’s going to cost them a few games.”

Saturday, it cost Chicago at least a chance to take down the Spurs.

This much is certain: These weren’t Paul’s father’s Bulls.