Magic Johnson makes bold claim on Cavaliers vs Pacers playoff series as Lakers legend names pick for ECF spot

Hall of Famer and LA Lakers legend Magic Johnson dropped some thoughts on the Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. Johnson was impressed with the Pacers' win in Game 1 and made his prediction for the winner of the series.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Johnson shared that he enjoyed the first game of the East semis, wherein the Pacers took a 121-112 win. However, he believes that the Cavaliers will still win the series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

"I enjoyed watching the Indiana Pacers take care of business against the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday, even though I think that the Cavs will end up winning the series," Johnson tweeted.

Magic Johnson also praised Tyrese Haliburton for his performance in Game 1 to help the Indiana Pacers gain homecourt advantage. Haliburton finished with 22 points, 13 assists and three blocks, making clutch plays, including back-to-back blocks and two assists.

Johnson also called the Pacers star a winner and a leader, which is something the LA Lakers legend knows about. He won five NBA championships with the purple and gold as the orchestrator of the "Showtime" Lakers.

On the other hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers remained the favorites to win the series despite the Game 1 loss. They didn't have Darius Garland due to injury, so Ty Jerome was forced into a role he wasn't accustomed to.

Jerome still performed well, but he made some mistakes in the fourth quarter. Donovan Mitchell had a huge third quarter but struggled with his shot the entire game.

Game 2 of the series is on Tuesday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

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Magic Johnson comments on John Haliburton's incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo

Magic Johnson comments on John Haliburton's incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo. (Photo: IMAGN)

One of the most bizarre moments of the Indiana Pacers' win in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks was John Haliburton's incident with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Tyrese Haliburton's father confronted "The Greek Freak" and talked trash, which was not well-received by almost everyone.

Even Tyrese thought that what his dad did was out of line, while Giannis called it disrespectful. The Pacers have banned their star player's father from their games for the "foreseeable future."

Magic Johnson commented on what happened and believed that it was due to John's love and support for his son. The Hall of Famer focused on the way Tyrese was raised by his parents, with John teaching him the right way to play basketball.

Tyrese understood the Pacers' decision regarding the ban on his father and has no problem with it.