LeBron James is on the verge of another milestone.

The Miami Heat forward has scored at least 10 points in 499 consecutive regular-season games and will go for No. 500 on Tuesday night when the two-time defending NBA champions visit the Toronto Raptors.

Former finalist Juan Martin Del Potro battled his way past Richard Gasquet to win his opening round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday after Stanislas Wawrinka grabbed the spotlight with a win in his maiden appearance at the season-ending tournament.

After Wawrinka defeated Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7 (0), 6-3 in Group A, Del Potro beat Gasquet 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-5 to secure crucial points in a tough Group B that also includes Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who will be facing off on Tuesday.

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness will go on trial in March on tax evasion charges.

Judges decided last week to admit the indictment against Hoeness and send the case to trial, the state court in Munich said Monday. Proceedings are scheduled to start March 10.

Russell Westbrook, who missed the entire pre-season and Oklahoma City's first two games of the NBA campaign, scored 21 points in his return Sunday to spark the Thunder over Phoenix 103-96.

Westbrook tore the meniscus in his right knee in the second game of last year's first-round playoff series between the Thunder and Houston.

Three consecutive wins and as many clean sheets in Serie A have given Juventus renewed confidence ahead of a must-win Champions League clash at home to Real Madrid on Tuesday.

However Juve coach Antonio Conte has called on fans to give the Serie A champions an extra boost by offering Carlo Ancelotti's Spanish giants a red-hot welcome to Turin.

Paris Masters champion Novak Djokovic is braced for a triple quickfire challenge of winning the World Tour Finals, the Davis Cup and finishing the year as world number one.

The 26-year-old produced some of his best tennis to defeat Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 7-5 in Sunday's final in the French capital as he won not only his third ATP title in a row, but extended his winning streak to 17 matches.

Tenacious Torino held Roma to a 1-1 draw at home to stop the leaders' all-time record of consecutive wins at the start of a Serie A season to 10 on Sunday.

Roma traveled to the Olympic Stadium with hopes of restoring their five-point lead over title rivals Napoli and Juventus, who closed the gap to two points with wins over Parma and Catania respectively on Saturday.

The English top flight will experience the fire and fury of a Welsh derby for the first time on Sunday when Cardiff City host Swansea City in the Premier League.

Cardiff's promotion from the Championship in May means that there are now two teams from Wales doing battle among the English elite and passions are expected to run high at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino insisted that he believes Lionel Messi's goal drought is a coincidence after the Argentine failed to net for the fourth consecutive league game in Barca's 1-0 win over Espanyol on Friday.

It is the first time since April 2011 that Messi has gone four games without scoring in La Liga and he appeared on the fringes of the game throughout as Barca struggled to breakdown their city rivals at the Camp Nou.

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal will prove their title credentials by turning on the style during a daunting spell for the Premier League leaders.

Wenger's team have been in superb form in the league, winning seven and drawing one of their last eight games to establish a two-point lead over Chelsea at the summit.