The Pelicans had the biggest choke job of the season when these teams met two days ago in Portland. New Orleans blew a 17-point lead during the final six minutes to lose, 125-124. 
There were 249 points scored in that game. So why try to make an Under work here besides the obvious of going below an extremely high total? 
Besides these teams knowing each other's tendencies from having just met and figuring the Pelicans are going to play with super intensity after their massive blown opportunity, a look at Tuesday's box score reveals just what it took to score this many points:
New Orleans: Shot 52 percent from the floor, made 16 of 33 shots from 3-point range for 48 percent and hit 16 of 20 free throws for 80 percent. The Pelicans rank 28th in free throw percentage at 73.2 percent and are 19th in 3-point shooting accuracy at 35.8 percent. Prior to Tuesday's game, Portland had given up an average of 113.8 points in its last eight games. That's below average, but not bottom-seven. A total this high is normally reserved for bottom-five type defenses. 
Portland: The Trail Blazers also shot 52 percent from the field in Tuesday's game and didn't miss a free throw going 31-for-31! The Trail Blazers rank 26th in field goal percentage at 44.8 percent. If you discount a 135-108 loss to the Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers had surrendered an average of just 100 points in their three previous games.