The Sixers are still confident despite a shrinking series lead going into Game 6 in Toronto

The 76ers are saying all the right things.

Following Monday’s 103-88 Game 5 loss, Tobias Harris said the team needs to stay together. Coach Doc Rivers said his squad will be ready for Game 6. And Joel Embiid exuded supreme confidence.

“We’re good,” Embiid said of the Sixers, who cling to a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series after failing to beat the Toronto Raptors in two elimination games.

Game 6 of the opening-round series is 7 p.m. Thursday at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

“I mean, it’s the same recipe: Don’t turn the ball over, offensive rebounding,” Embiid said of winning Game 6. “We definitely have to be better defensively, more connected defensively. I feel like there were a few plays where we were not on point and we didn’t have each other’s backs.

“But we’re fine. There’s a reason why we won three games in a row.”

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And it’s the same reason they lost two straight: shooting.

The Sixers made shots in the first three games. However, they shot 38.3% in Game 4 — including going 10-for-37 on three-pointers — and shot a combined 40.4% in the last two games.

The offensive struggles of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey in recent games have been at the forefront.

Maxey shot 9-for-26 while averaging 11.5 points in the last two games. This comes after he averaged 26.6 points and shot 60% in the first three games.

Meanwhile, Harden is coming off an misleading 15-point, 7-assist, 5-turnover effort in Game 5. He had made just 2 of 9 shots and had nine points before making his final two shots while the game was essentially over. For the series, Harden is shooting 36.8% (14-for-38) on two-point attempts.

“We have to get James going downhill in some more actions that he likes and more comfortable,” Rivers said. “You know, I just keep saying with Tyrese, we just have to get the ball in his hands more. We just do. I said it all game. ... He’s just not getting the ball in transition enough. And that’s on us.

“We have to do it.”

» READ MORE: The Sixers are in trouble, and it’s on Doc Rivers and James Harden to avoid a historic collapse

The Sixers also need Embiid to play less timidly.

The MVP finalist has been perhaps too protective of the torn ligament in his right thumb. Embiid admitted following Game 5 that he’s not playing freely and is thinking about getting hit or hurt.

The five-time All-Star is averaging 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 turnovers in the past two games. He had averaged 27.6 points and 13 rebounds in the first three.

Embiid tore the ligament in the first half of Game 3. But he remained in the game and hit the winning three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left.

Since then, he has lacked his usual aggressiveness and has been less dominant.

The Sixers must also find a way to get stops against the Raptors’ unorthodox rotation with All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet out with a left hip flexor strain.

Toronto’s starting lineup Monday consisted of shooting guard Gary Trent Jr., small forward OG Anunoby, and power forwards Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, and Khem Birch. Their three key reserves were power forwards Chris Boucher, Precious Achiuwa, and former Sixer Thad Young. The Sixers had a tough time defending the Raptors’ length and athleticism.

Toronto held a 56-36 edge in points in the paint.

“I just thought that they were the tougher team all night,” Rivers said. “They were more physical all night. ... I thought they attacked us, we didn’t attack back, we didn’t get in the paint enough, and it led to shots. I thought we took a lot of tough shots.”

» READ MORE: Has there been dirty play in the Sixers-Raptors series? Both sides seem to think so.

But to be honest, this was the way the Raptors were able to beat the Sixers in three of four regular-season meetings. One could argue the Sixers benefited early in the playoffs from the Raptors being limited due to injuries to Barnes and Young, and Trent’s non-COVID-19 illness.

Trent played poorly while dealing with his illness in Games 1 and 2. Barnes suffered a sprained left ankle in Game 1 and missed Games 2 and 3. Meanwhile, Young suffered a hyperextended left thumb in Game 1. The injury left him ineffective in limited minutes in Games 2 and 3 before finding his groove in Game 4.

The Raptors haven’t lost since the contributions of Trent, Barnes, and Young returned to the offense.

But …

“We really just have to focus on what’s worked for us through the series in the games that we have won and what has been successful,” Harris said. “We have to just do more of that.

“We can’t get away from what has really worked during our three games that we have won. That’s just the motto for the next game, we have to be better.”

But can they?

A loss Thursday would set up a winner-take-all Game 7 on Saturday in Philly.

That would be a pressure-packed situation for the Sixers, one where the home crowd is certain to voice its displeasure with any poor play. The sellout crowd of 20,517 Monday booed the Sixers early and often. Fans even began heading for the exit with a couple of minutes left in the game.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid is fined $15,000 for criticizing the officials after the Sixers’ Game 4 loss to the Toronto Raptors

“Sometimes, the Philly fans, they’re tough,” said Young, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Sixers after they drafted him in the first round in 2007. “I think that’s one of the reasons I loved being here for the seven years I was here, they’re a tough crowd.

“They’re going to let you know when you’re doing great. They’re going to let you know when you’re doing wrong and they want to see their guys play hard. This is a blue-collar city and that’s what they believe in — blue-collar work and making sure you’re bringing your 100% maximum effort each and every night.”