The Mercury can't afford to sleep on the Dream again in their second straight matchup to close Phoenix's two-game road trip in Atlanta on Friday.

The Mercury (15-14), despite having a better record, could use the kind of consistency displayed recently by Atlanta (10-17). Both teams are vying for one of eight spots in the WNBA playoffs, which begin Sept. 22.

After eight consecutive losses entering the WNBA's Phoenix All-Star and Olympic breaks, the WNBA's ninth-place Dream won its third straight by beating the Mercury, 72-63, at home Wednesday.

"I don't know if it's a must-win," Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said after Wednesday's game, referring to Friday's rematch. "We're trying to keep getting better here. It's another opportunity to improve. We're not looking farther ahead than Friday."

Phoenix is currently in sixth place but hasn't been more than two wins over .500. Phoenix is three games behind the Las Vegas Aces (17-10). The Aces are a half a game down from the No. 4 Seattle Storm (18-10), which currently hold the last spot for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. The Indiana Fever (11-16) trail Phoenix by just 1? games at seventh.

"I don't know our ability to move up in the seeding," Tibbetts said. "Obviously, there's an opportunity. We just want to be playing good basketball, consistent basketball, and we're not doing that right now."

Phoenix had its third-worst scoring output of the season Wednesday and an offensive nightmare against the Dream in the first quarter, scoring just six points.

The Mercury couldn't outhustle Tina Charles' 17 rebounds and the WNBA's fourth-best team on the glass, which outrebounded Phoenix 47-33, including 16-3 on the offensive boards. Phoenix continues to struggle, ranked 11th in rebounding after being the league's worst team in that category last season.

In addition, the Mercury gave up 14 second-chance points to Atlanta's four and were outscored by the Dream in the open floor, 9-4.

"We were standing around watching, expecting somebody else to get it instead of actually pursuing it," Mercury forward Natasha Mack (four points, five rebounds) said about rebounding against the Dream. "We just have to put a body on somebody for real."

Phoenix has played eight of 11 games on the road since July 1, and lost three of their first four games since returning from the break. The team starts a tough five-game homestand on Monday.

The first three games are against the league's top team, New York (24-4), then No. 3 Minnesota next Wednesday, followed by two-time defending champion Las Vegas on Sept. 1, the Dream again on Sept. 3, and closing against last-place Washington on Sept. 5.

"Every game is important. We can't discount any game," said Mercury forward Monique Billings, who had nine points, three rebounds, and one block against the Dream.

Phoenix edged Atlanta in their first meeting, 88-85, the second game of the year for both teams on May 18.

The Dream is on its longest win streak of the season after ousting three straight teams holding above-.500 records. That includes Seattle on Friday, 83-81, routed No. 2 Connecticut, 82-70, on Sunday, then the Mercury on Wednesday.

In addition to rebounding, Atlanta is better than Phoenix at mid-range shooting and defending the paint. Atlanta is third in both categories, while Phoenix is 12th and eighth.

In addition, the Dream gets to the free-throw line more than the Mercury. It is ranked second in free-throw attempts per game and FT percentage rate (.312), which is the number of FTs per field-goal attempt. The Mercury are sixth and fourth in those stats.

“For us, it’s not really about who we’re playing, it’s about us. We need to start stacking games. We need to start focusing on doing the little things while being consistent," the Mercury's Sophie Cunningham said after their home win over Chicago on Sunday.

"I think with the amount of scoring power that we have on this team that we’re one of the best offenses in the league, but defensively, sometimes we struggle and it’s about being consistent on the defensive end, moving the ball on the offensive end."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mercury can't sleep at Dream again to close road trip in playoff push