BOSTON — This wasn’t part of the script.

The plan for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs was to flip the switch, forget the inconsistent play in the regular season and take care of the Indiana Pacers in short order. Then we all could start worrying about Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Well, the Celtics are indeed taking care of business but all the signs point to this being a real series when it probably shouldn’t be. Despite being outplayed for three quarters on Wednesday night at TD Garden, the Celtics needed to rally from 12 down in the fourth to grab a 99-91 win and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Before the game, a clearly concerned Brad Stevens warned that his players needed to “raise their level,” in order to beat the Pacers. “The playoffs are a bear because of that,” he said.

You can put Kyrie Irving down in the column of raising his level. The team’s superstar played like the best guard in basketball, pouring in 37 points with six 3-point shots. Running mate Jayson Tatum was outstanding as well, dropping in 26 points.

The duo sparked a 16-0 fourth quarter rally and combined for 19 of the team’s points in a 31-12 quarter that sent the Pacers home shaking their heads.

“One bad quarter,” said Indiana’s Thaddeus Young. “We have to avoid that one bad quarter.”

That the Celtics didn’t take the lead for good until a Tatum 3-pointer with 50 seconds left tells you how well Indiana played in this game, but this really shouldn’t be this hard. The Pacers are playing without their top talent, guard Victor Oladipo. He blew out his knee and was lost for the season in late January. Since then, the Pacers were a sub-.500 team (16-19) to finish the year and limped into the playoffs losing nine of its final 13 games.

But the Pacers defend with a gritty ferocity, share the ball and put pressure on a Celtics’ defense that didn’t really show up until the fourth quarter. “They were terrific tonight,” Stevens said of the Pacers. “We were just good enough to get by.”

Putting this win in their back pocket was mandatory for the Celts. This team needs to move through the Pacers as quickly as possible, if only because a showdown with the rampaging Bucks awaits. The Bucks compiled the best record (60-22) in the NBA and are led by the likely MVP in the Greek Freak. They bear little resemblance to the team that lost to the Celts in seven games in a first-round series a year ago and will present all sorts of issues for Stevens and his staff.

Rest assured that the Bucks won’t toy around with their first-round dance partner, the Detroit Pistons. The last thing a coaching staff wants to do come playoff time is sweat out a six- or seven-game series while your opponent is devouring film of all your warts.

Boston’s limitations were on display in the first two games of these playoffs. The unspoken fact about the Celtics is they lack rim protection on defense. Aron Baynes is strong and plucky but can’t elevate or move his feet quickly enough on help defense. Al Horford battled the flu on Wednesday night and clearly wasn’t himself but he also gets overpowered around the rim. After watching the Pacers hit seven of their first nine shots and fly out to a 20-13 lead, Stevens was so frustrated he sent Daniel Theis into the fray for some rare first-quarter minutes.

The Pacers shot 65 percent in the first quarter and only Irving’s 18 points allowed the home team to hold a 52-50 halftime lead. But Boston dug itself a major hole again in the third quarter. The culprit was again awful defense. The Pacers continued to get whatever they wanted on the offensive end as they shot 50 percent for the quarter and led, 79-68.

But it’s very good luck that Irving is healthy and enjoying his first taste of the playoffs with the Celtics. Don’t listen to any of these fools who complain that he is the reason the team has underachieved this season. Is he a Diva in short pants? Sure. Does he love to hear himself ramble? You bet.

But the guy can seriously ball. No one in creation can stay in front of him on defense and when he is banging in tough jumpers like he was in Game 2, he’s an incomparable weapon.

“The object of the game is to outscore the other team,” Irving said, “and I was trying to put as many points on the board as I could. It was a gritty win for us.”

Now this series shifts to Indianapolis. Irving knows that it will only be that much harder to dig out of a 12-point, fourth-quarter hole when some unfriendly Midwesterners are screaming for his head.

“That’s where the big test is,” Irving said. “It’s just us in the trenches and we really have to focus in. I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

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