If the Sixers are truly NBA title contenders capable of beating the Boston Celtics, it’s time to play like it

The 76ers need to man up.

They know that. The Sixers have to cease being scared of driving in the paint and taking shots against the Boston Celtics. They know they can’t continue to show the bad body language in negative situations, which was on full display in Game 3 on Friday.

It’s definitely time for them to look in the mirror.

Otherwise, the Sixers have no shot of winning the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Celtics take a 2-1 series advantage into Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers won the series opener only to lose Games 2 and 3. The consecutive losses have led to a less than ideal feeling and a lack of confidence in the locker room.

» READ MORE: Sixers vs. Celtics: Boston should be up 3-0, Philly’s defensive shortcomings and Harden’s woes

“We can have better body language all around,” Tobias Harris said. “We have to know the game is going to be a fight. There’s going to be mistakes. There’s going to be turnovers, missed shots. But we have to go on to the next play, and we really have the emphasis on winning.”

But on Friday, the emphasis appeared to be more on trying not to look bad.

James Harden appeared unsure of himself while scoring 16 points on 3-for-14 shooting. He even passed up some shot opportunities.

“I just thought we didn’t play with enough trust,” Doc Rivers said. “We didn’t get in the paint enough, and we can do that. [The Celtics] are helping on everybody’s drives. So they’re bringing people and James has to make the right decision. I think, overall, he is.”

During Saturday’s film study session, Harden was shown two big shots he passed up late in Game 3.

“And I asked him, ‘You want those shots?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’” Rivers said. “And I said, ‘We’re going to live with those, too. We just need you to be aggressive and take them.’ So we’ll be fine.”

But Tyrese Maxey admitted Saturday that he also lacked aggressiveness. Following the film study, the shooting guard participated in a drill to simulate the Celtics’ wings length.

Maxey, who scored 13 points on 4-for-16 shooting in Game 3, also tried to get some of his touch back.

“I feel like I lost it in the last game,” he said. “And that’s really what I was trying to do today, just get my touch back. Get my rhythm back. Doc was on me. He said he felt like I started the third quarter with confidence. And then he said he felt like after I missed a shot or two, then my confidence stopped. And I stopped being aggressive. Then I started trying to press the issue.

“So I’ve got to be confident throughout the entire game and keep being aggressive.”

While watching the film, Rivers showed Maxey a play where he didn’t attack the rim. The coach asked the guard what he saw on the play, in which Maxey responded he was waiting for Joel Embiid.

» READ MORE: Is James Harden the new Ben Simmons? He must reverse course to salvage this Sixers series.

That’s when Embiid and Montrezl Harrell questioned why wait when there was no one in front of him? They stressed that he has to get in the paint and attempt a shot.

“You get your shot blocked a couple of times and you tend not to want to go in there,” Rivers said. “We have to go in there. We have to keep going in there. We have to be relentless.”

The Sixers are focused on not overreacting to losing two straight games to the Celtics.

Putting things in perspective, Rivers asked reserve point guard Shake Milton what is the closest a series can be after three games, and Milton responded, 2-1.

Rivers noted the series is 2-1 with the Sixers having a home game.

“It’s emotional terrorism at times,” Rivers said. “And you have to deal with it. You have to be able to handle it, or you lose. … So I thought after watching the film, we are in a much better place than before.”

Maxey said the biggest thing about the film session was that the Sixers were real with each other. They expressed their emotions and feelings. They got things off their chest, as a lot of people spoke up.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Maxey said. “We are going to go out there and compete extremely hard — every guy on the team. … We made the [playoffs] when people counted us out. We go out there and prove people wrong.”

But the playoffs are different than the regular season. Every possession is important, and pressure packed.

“Each [playoff] round you grow,” Rivers said. “Boston [which advanced to last season’s NBA Finals] is past that already. They’ve gone each round. So they’ve gone through these frustrations already where it doesn’t faze them when they made mistakes. Where not there. That’s where we are going. That’s part of this journey.”

On Friday, the Sixers hung their heads and reacted negatively after bad plays. That had a carryover to the next play.

So if they expect the win this series, the Sixers must man up. But will they?