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Sep 7, 2015 - 9:36 PM The Washington Mystics' magic number is one with three games remaining.

While a third consecutive playoff berth seems like a lock, it's hardly a guarantee with the way they've been playing.

The Mystics try to avoid a fifth straight defeat and gain some ground on the third-place Indiana Fever on Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.

Washington (16-15) looked like a sure bet to make the playoffs after a 79-61 win at Western Conference-leading Minnesota on Aug. 19. That moved it within two games of first place in the East, but it's since lost six of seven.

The Mystics have a three-game lead over Atlanta and could have eliminated the Dream from playoff contention Sunday but suffered a 73-67 defeat at Philips Arena. Washington and Atlanta conclude the season Sunday at the Verizon Center.

Even if the Mystics fail to win another game, they'll still be back into the playoffs if the Dream lose one of their remaining three.

Washington is 10-5 at home but has lost four of the last five regular-season meetings with Indiana in the nation's capital. In the last one Aug. 11, Tamika Catchings scored 10 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead Indiana to a 73-62 victory.

Although the Fever (18-13) are headed to the playoffs for a WNBA-record 11th consecutive season, their seeding is far from set. They're two games ahead of the Mystics as they try to avoid an opening-round series against East-leading New York and trail second-place Chicago by 1 1/2 games for home-court advantage in the first round.

Like Washington, Indiana also hasn't looked much like a playoff team lately, having dropped four of five. The Fever went 3 of 12 from 3-point range and were outscored 40-28 in the paint in Friday's 81-65 loss at Minnesota.

Shenise Johnson, Indiana's second-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game, had four in 21 minutes and is averaging 6.0 points in her last three contests.

The Mystics haven't been getting much offensive production from Stefanie Dolson, who also averages 11.2 points. The 6-foot-5 Dolson, eighth in the league in shooting at 50.0 percent, is averaging 6.5 points and 34.3 percent shooting in her past four games.

She was limited to six points in last month's meeting with Indiana while center Emma Meesseman, second on Washington with 11.8 points, went scoreless in 17 minutes.