Mercury: Road games in the playoffs suit Mercury just fine.

The Phoenix Mercury will get on yet another plane Tuesday to play their fourth and fifth consecutive road games, and they couldn't be happier.

It means not only that the Mercury are through to the WNBA playoff semifinals for a fourth straight season, but that they are guaranteed at least one postseason home game Sunday and another chance for retiring forward Penny Taylor to play before the X factor fan base.

For Phoenix to reach a best-of-five series against the defending WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx required road wins over Indiana (89-78) and New York (101-94) in first- and second-round single elimination games, part of the league's new playoff format. The No. 8 seed Mercury, just 5-12 in away games during the regular season, found a way past the No. 5 and No. 3 seeds to earn a full series shot at No. 1 seed Minnesota, off since Sept. 17 when it closed the regular season with a league best 28-6 record.

"There was a point in each game where either team could have won," Mercury guard Diana Taurasi said Monday. "Whatever team was going to leave the timeout with a mindset to win was going to win it. We showed we had it. That's a nice feeling to have, knowing we have winning character. A lot of people have been in this situation before so there's that calming sense also that we know what we have to do to get the job done."

Taurasi was at her brilliant best against New York, scoring 30 points including half of the Mercury points in a 10-2 run that broke a fourth-quarter tie.

"Her determination to win in those moments exceeds anyone else," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said. "She wants to take those shots, we want her to take those shots, and she makes those shots."

Brondello said winning the elimination games reinforces preseason belief that the Mercury would contend for a fourth WNBA title with Taurasi returning after taking 2015 off and Taylor coming back from injury.

"We had the potential to be great and since the Olympic break we've got to (keep) playing the way we know we're capable of playing," Brondello said. "We didn't have a great record, but after the Olympics we knew every game counted. That momentum and that focus helps you to play your best ball at the right end of the season. We've been playing extremely well just to get into the playoffs so we're kind of battle-ready."

The Mercury, with six Olympians who won a combined four medals, are 8-4 including in the playoffs since Rio.

Games 1-2 in the semifinals are Wednesday and Friday at Minnesota. Game 3 is Sunday at Talking Stick Resort Arena, which is not available for a potential Game 4 because of a Sia concert. So should the series continue to that point, Game 4 will be played at Grand Canyon University Arena on Oct. 4. A decisive fifth would be Oct. 6 in Minneapolis.

The Phoenix-Minnesota winner will play the winner between Los Angeles and Chicago in a best-of-five final starting Oct. 9.