After being humbled with a 26-point loss at the Connecticut Sun two weeks ago, the surging Washington Mystics have won three consecutive games — all on the road — as they get set to play at the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night.

The Mercury (16-13) have come on hard times, losing five of their last six games, a stretch that includes four straight losses at home.

With only five regular-season games remaining, including Tuesday’s matchup with Washington (16-11), the Mercury are three games up on the Las Vegas Aces, the ninth-place team that is just out of playoff contention.

The Mercury appear to be in decent shape to survive with a playoff spot, but coach Sandy Brondello is not taking anything for granted given that her team has won only two of its last 10 games.

They are coming off a hard-fought 78-75 loss on the road Sunday to the Los Angeles Sparks. Veteran guard Diana Taurasi fouled out with 2:40 remaining and the Sparks leading by two points.

Taurasi leads the Mercury, averaging 20.6 points and 4.8 assists per game. Brittney Griner, who had 22 points against the Sparks, averages a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game.

“It’s unfortunate. They were questionable fouls,” Brondello said of Taurasi fouling out. “When you take one of your best players out of the game, it makes it hard to win. Credit to the girls, I thought they fought hard.”

The Mercury lost on a late shot — a 3-pointer made by Sparks guard Chelsea Gray. The Mystics enter Tuesday’s game coming off a game-winning shot by Kristi Toliver with 14 seconds left in the 76-74 victory. Toliver, who leads the Mystics with 4.6 assists per game, paced her team with 16 points.

“They know that right now, the way the league is, every game seems to be like this,” Washington coach Mike Thibault said. “Every team we play is fighting. There’s 10 teams in contention for eight spots, so it feels like sometimes you actually do better by not playing. You can move up in the standings if somebody else loses.

“But winning games like this on the road are really difficult and those are hard to come by. We’ll take every one of them.”

Washington and Phoenix will play for the third time, with each already winning on the road. In the last meeting, the Mercury won 84-74 in Washington, D.C., on June 30, when Phoenix was in the midst of a four-game winning streak and positioned only behind the Seattle Storm for the best record in the WNBA.

Washington’s top scorer (20.2 points) and rebounder (7.4) is veteran all-star wing player Elena Della Donne.