Superstar Lionel Messi admitted he was relieved to leave here with the 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen which puts Barcelona on the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals after the Round of 16, first-leg clash.

Holders Barcelona took a giant step towards the last eight on Tuesday with a convincing win following a slow start as maestro Messi put in an impressive display after a quiet first half in this David versus Goliath clash.

Novak Djokovic has been awarded the top state honor in Serbia.

President Boris Tadic has decorated the tennis great with the Karadjordjeva Star Medal, the highest honor in the Balkan country.

LeBron James scored 35 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 to power the Miami Heat past Milwaukee 114-96 to avoid being swept by the Bucks in their three NBA meetings this season.

James also contributed a game-high eight rebounds and three assists for the Heat, who were determined not to allow Milwaukee to win all three games between the clubs this season.

Holders Barcelona face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday on a desperate mission to save their season from falling apart.

Pep Guardiola's side find themselves a massive 10 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga after their shock 3-2 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday with his decision to put his faith in youth back-firing as he left stars Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Cesc Fabregas on the bench with Leverkusen in mind.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and the Dallas Mavericks stretched their NBA win streak to four games with a 96-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Shawn Marion added 16 points for the Mavericks while Delonte West, Brendan Haywood and Vince Carter each contributed 10. The team improved to 18-11, 1 1/2 games behind first-place San Antonio in the Southwest division.

A representative of Carlos Tevez says the Argentina striker will return to Manchester City on Tuesday after spending nearly three months away from the club on unauthorized leave.

Paul McCarthy, Tevez's advisor, says the player is flying back from his native country on Monday because he "wants to be back playing football" and "wants to help Manchester City to win the title."

Primed for a brief flirtation with the Champions League, Thierry Henry could give Arsenal the ideal parting gift by helping the English club to victory over AC Milan in the standout last-16 match in Europe's elite competition this week.

Wednesday's first leg at the San Siro will be Henry's last match in a relatively successful loan spell at Arsenal before he returns to the New York Red Bulls ahead of the new Major League Soccer season.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his sixth hat-trick of the season as Real Madrid took a huge step towards winning La Liga, coming from behind to beat Levante 4-2 and open a 10-point lead over Barcelona.

After Gustavo Cabral gave Levante a surprise early lead, Ronaldo got his first from the penalty spot following a handball by Vicente Iborra, who was also dismissed for his second yellow card.

Luis Suarez apologized Sunday for refusing to shake hands with Patrice Evra while Liverpool criticized its player for the first time in this protracted racism dispute that has tarnished the reputation of one of England's storied clubs.

Suarez, a national player for Uruguay, snubbed Evra before Saturday's Premier League game at Old Trafford. This was the players' first meeting since Suarez was banned for eight matches for racially abusing the Manchester United defender in October.

LeBron James scored 23 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 to power the Miami Heat over the Atlanta Hawks 107-87 in an NBA rout by the reigning Eastern Conference champions.

Chris Bosh contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for Miami while Mario Chalmers added 15 points for the Heat, who also got 13 rebounds from James.